


Runaway

by LordSaucy



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Adult Content, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Domestic Violence, Drug Use, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-28
Updated: 2017-10-18
Packaged: 2018-10-24 20:07:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 36,981
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10748895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LordSaucy/pseuds/LordSaucy
Summary: Caitlyn is disenchanted with life in the concrete jungle. Her job sucks, her friends are so-so, she just wants something to revive that spark in life. A letter from her Grandfather gives her that out in the form of a farm in Stardew Valley. A small quaint town in the South East with friendly people and beautiful scenery. However, Cait gets more than she bargained for. Even in a small town, people have secrets.





	1. Joja Blues

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone! I'm back and this time its for Stardew Valley. This game is seriously one of my favorites. I love the characters, and think they're wonderful but they're a bit too one notefor me. You know? (my ONLY complaint with the game). Sure it's lovely to have a town where everyone is nice, but I really think he got something with Shane. So now, everyone's getting the "Shane" treatment. Falling back on the trope of 'small town, big secrets', but eh, as long as it's fun to write, why not?
> 
> Anyway. This is the first chapter. Still finding my footing but I promise, two hits its stride.
> 
> Enjoy!

__ _ Bzzzt _

I hit enter right before my computer locked up for break. I sighed heavily and hung my head as I slumped back into my ergonomic desk chair that Joja had so  _ graciously _ given us after several reports of back spasms wound their way through the office.

_ Lunch time...finally. _ Today was especially abysmal, I walked into work this morning through the gray drizzle to find my quotas had been upped. Now I had to fill out five hundred forms a day.  _ Shit _ .

Still, thanks to a great 80WPM and the overbearing need not to disappoint my team lead I was already three hundred in. I had thirty minutes to rest my aching wrists before getting back to the grind, and in my haste to make it to my early morning meeting, I had forgotten to pack my usual snack for work.

I paused and looked at my darkened screen. Joja was very particular about clocking in and clocking out. So much so that it was done for us automatically, now. The computers locked when you weren't supposed to be inputting information. It was annoying seeing as how you're always finishing up an application right before it turns off.

“This sucks,” I muttered. My hair pressed flat to the back of my head as I leaned back further into the chair. I hated my job. The only thing it was good for was paying back my parents for the two years I had spent in college. Other than that, it was mind numbing and awful. Eight hours a day every day at a desk typing in the same information over and over again. I was over how easy this data entry job was about two weeks in when I realized I would be doing this for  _ years. _

__ Seven years later and I was right. I had just paid off school a few months ago, and now I was saving for my own place. My parents had been nice enough to let me live in their basement while I worked—but I could tell my father was getting antsy about me not flying the coop yet. He would purposefully walk around in his old PT uniform, (T-shirt and short shorts) and then get all huffy if I was around to see. Like I hadn't seen a hairy man thigh before,  _ Christ. _

__ Still mom kept the peace as she usually did. She always welcomed me in the kitchen in the morning, and kissed my cheek like I was still ten years old. It was always embarrassing, and always endearing. It was something she said her father, my PopPop used to do when she was little.

_ Crap. PopPop _ . I side eyed the top drawer of my desk with its little silver keyhole. I usually chose not to think about him since he passed--it just made me too sad. He was an amazing man. Plump, white hair and beard, the perfect candidate to play Santa at Christmas. Oh and he did--every year from when I was a toddler to when I was twelve, he would make the drive from the sleepy little town he lived in and set foot in the city to give me a taste of magic. 

A bead of snot hit the back of my throat as I sniffed it back up my nose. He had passed away when I was seventeen in an assisted care facility in the city far from his beloved farm. Pneumonia got him and just never let go. 

The night before he died he had given me an envelope and told me not to open it until life in the city was too much to handle. Too chaotic. He said to keep it secret, and keep it safe until then. I promised that I wouldn’t look and I hadn’t even taken a peek in the decade since.

I never thought I would have to look at my Grandfather's note. I never thought I'd get tired of city life.  I have a job that most people would think is good for someone in their late twenties. Corporate, lax dresscode and great benefits.  I have friends, not many but a few okay ones that I get together with every few weekends to share giggles and drinks, and my family that I love dearly. It was a decent little life, Nothing too exciting, but it was comfortable and it was mine. 

I pulled the bungee cord on my lanyard that connected to my desk key and unlocked the drawer slowly. The casters of the drawer rolled smoothly as it opened. The envelope PopPop left me was yellowed and worn. Until recently it had been kept in a fireproof safe in my parent's house just to make sure nothing happened to it. That was up until a couple weeks ago when I had the unexplainable urge to move it to my locked drawer at work. I grabbed the envelope and turned it over in my hands. The paper was wrinkled and soft, not unlike my Grandfather up until nearly before the end.

   He had lived by himself out on a farm for decades. My Grandmother had died young in an accident and he never re-married...or I guess it is more appropriate to say, he was married to his farm. The day after Grandma’s funeral dad said he packed up his things, sold the house and moved there. 

   I had only ever gone to visit him at the farm once. I remember that it was during Spring, and I remember being in awe at how lush and green everything was.  All the plants were aligned in their little mounds of Earth in perfectly straight rows. The fences were immaculately kept, and the animals, though unused to children were sweet enough.  I wanted nothing more than to help PopPop feed the animals, and then go play in the warm sand on the beach South of town.

   Years later, when Grandpa got too sick to work my father made the executive decision to move him to the city. Grandpa hated the idea, but after he fell trying to pen an escaped chicken and broke his ankle he realized he couldn't do it himself anymore. He sold all his animals, and his last harvest and packed his things to live in an assisted living facility.

   Assisted living was hell for him. Grandpa hated feeling useless. He wanted to work with his hands, he wanted to do something that mattered.  I never understood how that felt until recently.

   A computer could do my job. I do data entry for Joja Corporation memberships. At first i relished the high pay for low effort, but eventually it became mind-numbing. The same six fields every time.  Every hour, every day.

This mind numbing emptiness I felt as soon as I passed under the royal blue Joja sign had begun to follow me home after work and on weekends. I just didn’t want to do anything. I just stayed locked in my basement room staring at the popcorn ceiling dreaming of the day when I didn’t have to type the same information over and over again.

I had been trying to look for work for a few months now, much to my father’s dismay. Nothing here pays as well as Joja. Its utterly ridiculous how far the pay gap is. For a while a friend of mine, Celia, took up witchcraft to try and find out what deal the Joja founder had made to be able to pay his workers so much. We all laughed at her for trying. That was how it always has been. Joja on top of the world. 

With my needs for a new job, my time spent at work, and my mood being so low, I hadn’t seen my friends in a month or so. The first few weeks they called trying to get me to come out, but after repeated denials on my part they had stopped calling altogether. I saw their adventures on social media, and I smiled when they posted funny pictures--I just didn’t feel the need to be there, ya know?

   I turned the envelope over to stare at the glossy red wax seal Grandpa used to keep the contents hidden. I was only to open it if I was craving change, if I was needing something new.  My computer screen cast a faint blue glow over my cubicle. It was filled with pictures of good times with family and friends. Everyone had big beaming smiles in every single photo save for one person:  me.

   I had a smile, sure, but it was a half smile--an empty smile. These pictures showed me the truth. I had been unhappy here longer than I would care to admit.  My gaze fell back upon the letter. It seemed heavier now--filled with import.

_  Fuck it. _

   I slid my thumb under the flap and popped the wax seal off of the envelope. It gave way easily as if begging to be opened. My hands shook slightly with anticipation while I pulled two slightly whiter folded pieces of paper out of the envelope. Maybe it was a holdover from childhood, but Grandpa always gave the best gifts, and I was hoping this would be no different.

   I slowly parted the two halfs of the papers and looked at the bottom where my Grandfather's lavish signature took up the bottom right corner. Interesting. I parted it the rest of the way and one word jumped out at me right away:  deed.

_ What the fuck? _  I quickly skimmed the paper.  _ No _ .  I read it again slower.  _ No _ .  I read it outloud to myself.  _ Shit.... _

   My Grandfather, my wonderful, caring PopPop had left me the deed to his farm. The entire property was mine--and the property from what I remembered was huge. It was mine to do with what I pleased, but I was very aware his intent was for me to live there and work the land like he did for so many years.

I turned my attention to the second piece of paper:

* * *

 

My dearest Caitlyn,

If you’re reading this, you must be in dire need of a change. The same thing happened to me long ago. I’d lost sight of what mattered most in life...real connections with other people and nature. So I dropped everything and moved to the place I truly belong.

I’ve enclosed the deed to that place....my pride and joy, Crystal Stream Farm.It’s located in Stardew Valley, on the southern coast. It’s the perfect place to start your new life. 

This was my most precious gift of all, and now it’s yours. I know you’ll honor the family name. Good luck.

Love,

PopPop

* * *

 

  I looked at my fuzzy reflection in the screen of my computer through teary eyes. Pasty white skin, a shaggy bob that was dyed a dark forest green, thick black eyeliner and a heavy chain necklace.  _ You have no business owning a farm, much less working one, _ the cynical side of me screamed.

   Of course that was all fair. I am a pasty goth-leaning city girl from the concrete jungle. My only experience with farming was watching my Grandfather work the farm when I was twelve, and I hadn't so much as helped my mom garden since.

   Still, my fond memories of the farm were swimming about in my head quickly drowning my cynicism. It would be so cool to have my own house, grow my own food, have cows, and chickens...so what if I don't know anything now. Isn't that what the internet is for? I could always take the time to research before I go so that when I get there I am prepared.

   There was a loud  _ 'bzzzzzt' _ from the intercom. Break time was over. Another shot of snot hit the back of my throat as I sniffed and folded up the deed and letter before putting it back in its yellowed envelope., I slid that back into the top drawer of my desk locking it quickly after I closed it, fearing I would spend the rest of my shift just staring at the deed and daydreaming.

I frowned at the stack of papers next to me--at least two hundred more memberships to fill out before I could go home.

_  I need to get out of here, _ I dutifully pulled the top paper off the pile and set it in front of me to begin transcribing.  _ I need to do something more with my life _ , I set about typing the name of the customer into the blank field on my screen.

   There was no way I was going to do this for the rest of my life. The repetition of wakeup, work, home, socialize, bed wasn't enough for me. The hollow connections I had made here weren't enough for me. The fact that I am in my late twenties and still living at home isn't enough for me.

   If I put my mind to it and treated learning to farm like studying for school, I would be ready in no time to pack up and leave this place. I just had to be diligent, and make sure to learn something new every day.

   It was nearing the end of winter--there was only about twelve days left and then it would be Spring. If I could wait twelve days--study for ten days, (leaving two days for travel), then I could be ready to plant the first of Spring.

   That settles it. My frown slowly turned into a smile--a true smile. I would learn what I could over the next ten days and then head off to my new farm.

 


	2. The Little Bus that Couldn't

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Thanks for reading on to chapter two.
> 
> Cait's not quite in Stardew, yet, but she's getting there!

* * *

 

The seats of the huge greyhound I was on were nearly unbearable. I had been sitting on this upholstered rock for eighteen hours now and I still had a few more minutes to go. Thankfully I had a bus transfer coming up soon so I could get up and stretch my legs a bit before starting the last leg of my journey to Pelican Town in Stardew Valley.

I was visibly excited as I caught my reflection in the bus’ window. I had this stupid grin stretched across my painted lips, and my left leg was bouncing uncontrollably. It was funny how my mood had flipped as soon as I had decided on moving to Pelican Town. 

The name was so quaint:  Pelican Town. Oh god I loved it. I had images of greenery, flowers, and friendly townspeople swimming through my head as soon as it hit my brain pan. I was excited to explore, and meet the new people that were becoming my temporary neighbors.

I say temporary, because my father had a fit when he saw the paperwork. He screamed for hours about the ‘stupid old man who thought leaving a farm to a novice was a good idea’. Dad thought Crystal Stream was going to be a money sink for me--and he didn’t want me blowing my savings to save what he was sure would be a failing farm. The vein in his forehead kept getting bigger and bigger, so to keep him from stroking out, I promised that I would stay one year, and if I wasn’t turning a decent enough profit, I would sell the farm.  I was under no illusions that it would be near impossible to get an entire farm up and running in a year, so I was just going to be thankful for the working vacation.

I gazed out of the window as the scenery got progressively greener--like someone turning up the hue on an image editor. I felt the bus start to slow just as brilliantly bright wild flowers began to line the side of the road. I reached over next to me without taking my eyes off of the foliage and felt around for the strap of my duffel bag. 

I had already spent money on this venture in the form of clothes shopping. My normal aesthetic was not very practical for outdoor work, (platform boots won’t cut it on the farm), so I stopped off the day prior to getting on the bus and grabbed some basics. Tank tops, t-shirts, jeans, shorts, a pair of boots that would be appropriate for the farm, and a jacket for the winter. All were rolled tightly to fit in my dad’s old military duffel bag along with toiletries, makeup, towels, and undergarments. That and my coin purse were the only things I brought with me.

My dad, insisting on keeping me from spending all my savings convinced me to only bring 500 gold with me. That in itself was a bitch and a half. I wasn’t sure what food prices were in Stardew, so no telling on how I was going to feed myself. Though from the sound of the Mayor on the phone the other night, I doubt the townspeople would let me go hungry.

We  _ ‘hissed’ _ to a halt behind another smaller bus along the side of the empty highway. I stood, hoisted my bag over my shoulder and made my way up the aisle toward the driver. He turned and gave me a curt nod, and side eyed my tattoo before looking back out through the windshield. “Thanks,” I called out as I stepped down the too-steep bus stairs right before he closed the doors in my face.

_ Rude. _ I glowered at the man through the plexi-glass but he just continued to stare at the bus in front of him.  _ Fine _ , I shrugged my bag further up my shoulder and headed off to my right toward the door of the other bus. It was a bit longer than a handicap bus, but shorter than the one I was just on. It was painted a shiny white, and had a lavender stripe, and a royal purple stripe running around the middle of it. It was really quite pretty.

Before I even got to the front the doors  _ ‘wooshed _ ’ open to allow me inside. “C’mon in, kid!” a gravelly pack-a-day voice beckoned from inside the vehicle. From the tone, I couldn’t yet tell if the driver was male or female, but in either case, the voice seemed friendly. 

My feet crunched in the gravel as I made my last few steps to the door. As soon as I was able I looked up to meet the face of my hopefully-friendly driver.  _ Oh, it is a ‘she’. _

“Name’s Pam Hirsch,” the husky voiced woman smiled down at me through frosted pink lips. Her teeth were yellowed, and a couple were chipped showing that she didn’t seem to really care much for them, or she just smoked a hell of a lot. Her face was sagging in such a way that showed that life probably hadn’t been all too fair for poor Pam. Her face was criss crossed with worry lines, smile lines, crows feet--you name it, Pam had it. Her makeup was harsh and unblended, almost as if she quit caring halfway through. Her lids were painted a bright satin blue, and her eyebrows were thin and dark in contrast to her curly blonde bush of hair. 

“Caitlyn Summerfield,” I smiled at her and ascended the steps of the bus.

“Pleased to meet ya,” she croaked and shut the doors behind me. As I passed to sit on one of the seats opposite the isle close by her, I caught a musky twinge of alcohol and cigarettes on her. I made a face while I settled my bag in the window seat two rows back from Pam. This was going to be interesting--hopefully whatever she drank wasn’t consumed right before she came to pick me up. 

“Same here,” I forced a smile back on my face and turned to find her looking back at me, head tilted like she was thinking something. I quirked a slender brow at her, which seemed to catch her attention because she shrugged and turned back to face the road, and put the bus in gear. 

“Time ta get ya home,” she laughed. It was deep and throaty, and it almost sounded painful. At the same time, it was infectious and I found myself laughing with her as we headed off down the road. For someone who was probably slightly intoxicated Pam drove completely fine. She never once deviated from her lane, and she always kept right at the speed limit, from what I could see of her gauges.

Pam wasn’t incredibly talkative, and to be fair I was a bit worried about engaging her while she might be hindered, but she did offer up some information about herself. She was in her mid-fifties, and she was the bus driver for the town (duh). She has a daughter named Penny who tutors the two children in town, and she lives in the only trailer in Stardew. 

She also asked a few questions about me. Where did I grow up, hows my family, what do I remember about PopPop, and as she put it: “how in the hell did you sit through that tattoo?”

“Oh it wasn’t too bad,” I shrugged and looked down at my left arm to gaze lovingly at the cherry blossom petals I had permanently inked there. “It doesn’t hurt as bad as they say.”

“Looks like it goes over your shoulders--you do that in one day?” I saw her harsh dark brow lift in the mirror. I smiled at her reaction. It was normal for people who weren’t into a more alternative culture to be curious. I didn’t mind.

“No, it happened in two days about a month apart. Had to wait for the first session to heal.”

“Oh,” she nodded slowly. “Any special meaning?”

“I just think cherry blossoms are pretty, and I wanted to have something pretty on me forever.” I grinned.

She nodded slowly again and her frosted lips opened again, but before she could ask another tatto question I interrupted: 

“How many people live in Stardew Valley, Pam?”

“Twenty-seven,” she answered almost sounding proud.  _ That got her off track. _ “A lot of us older folk have been here all our lives. Most of the young’ins that grow up in Stardew leave when they get old enough. We still have some about your age that haven’t flown the coop yet.” Another laugh. 

“Oh really,” I had to say I was fairly excited about the prospect of some people my age that I could hopefully become friends with. A lot of my friends back in the city were older than I was by a few years. 

“Yup, there’s my daughter, Penny, then there’s Sam, Sebastian, his sister Maru, Abigail, Alex, Shane, and Emily.” Pam nodded her head with each name spoken as if remembering eight of the twenty-seven people in town was hard for her.

“Nice,” I smiled at Pam, which was promptly returned to me in the rearview mirror. “I look forward to meeting everyone!” 

“I hope so,” Pam clicked her tongue behind her glossy pink lips. “Lewis has been raving about you since he got word. Wants to show ya off to the town. He loved your Grandpa, they were best friends. Broke his heart to see him leave, and it was even worse when he passed. He’s so excited that you’re a comin’ that he’s been down there since yesterday tryin’ to clean up for ya.”

“Oh, he didn’t have to do that,” my cheeks heated up out of mild annoyance and embarrassment that a complete stranger was on my property cleaning for me.

“There ain’t no stoppin’ the Mayor when he puts his mind to somethin’,” Pam shook her head knowingly. “Trust me, I’ve tried.” She started to chuckle and immediately let out a hacking cough. She did her best to cover the spittle flying from her mouth with the back of her forearm. I frowned. That smoker’s cough was bad.

“Hey-you okay, Pam?” I leaned forward and tilted my head to get a better look at her face. Her eyes were bloodshot and watery from coughing, and her pink lipstick had smeared in the corner a bit from contact with her arm. 

She waved me off with a flick of the wrist. From the jaggedness of her breathing I could tell she was trying not to continue the coughing fit. I nodded and was starting to lean back when I saw an emerald green sign just ahead of the bus:

Stardew Valley 0.5 miles.

My heartbeat quickened. This was it! I sat back in my seat and looked down at myself, hoping that I was dressed appropriately. I was wearing a black tank top, and a black pair of shorts. The shorts were admittedly a bit too short for farmwork, but I had to work with what I could find on short notice. I stuck a foot out in the aisle to check my leather boots. They still had the new boot shine, but my father had convinced me to wear them in the shower to break them in. So though they looked like they were straight out of the box, the insides were already moulded to my feet. Unfortunately the only thing I didn’t have was a hat--but I’m sure I could buy one somewhere in town.

“Alrighty,” Pam finally spoke. Her voice still seemed strained, but she was beaming at me in the rearview mirror. “You ready, kiddo?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” I responded with a tentative laugh. Pam just nodded at me, her expression reading ‘you’ll be fine, kid’, and the bus began to slow.

The view out of the window was amazing. The trees were fully grown, and full of varying shades of vibrant greens. Even the few pine trees I saw were rich with color. The flowers were a bit more sparse here, but they were just as beautiful as they were in droves back at the bus stop. 

Out of my side, up ahead I could see a woman with fiery orange hair. She wore a bright grin, and a mustard yellow sweatshirt, half zipped up to show a white t-shirt. Her jeans were slightly muddy on the bottom as were the bit of boots I could see. She waved at the bus as we crawled to a stop. 

Suddenly the bus jerked and all motion ceased. I heard a snap coming from the front of the bus, and suddenly black billows of smoke came pouring out from the cracks around the hood. Pam screamed and pulled the lever to open the doors and practically jumped out of the bus. I frantically scrambled for my things and followed her out.

“No, no, no!” Pam yelled, her fists balled tightly in her short blonde hair. “This fuckin’ thing can’t ever stay runnin’!” Pam paced back and forth in front of her bus screaming obscenities at the black smoke that she swore was ‘taunting’ her. 

I looked to the woman that was waiting for us to arrive, and found her watching with pursed lips, her clasped hands under her chin, watching Pam’s display like this was a common occurrence. There was a hint of disdain in the woman’s eyes, and I wondered if I really was just shuttled into town by the village drunkard.

After a long moment of watching the spectacle, the woman let out a heavy sigh, dropped her hands, and turned to me. Her face changed into an expression of genuine happiness as she gave me a long look.

“Afternoon,” she held out a calloused hand for me to shake. I took it quickly, not wanting to be rude and found her grip sure and confident. “My name is Robin, I’m the carpenter here in Stardew.”

That explained the callouses. Her hands were dainty, but well worked, and from the way she said the word ‘carpenter’, there was no denying she was proud of the title. I smiled back at Robin, wanting so much to make a good impression on someone who I was sure to have a close working relationship with. What’s a farm without a barn? Or silos? I sure as hell didn’t know how to make any of that--but I bet she did, and I bet she was thinking the same thing.

“I’m Caitlyn,” I replied, “I’m the new owner of Crystal Stream farm,” my cheeks flushed slightly after I realized I stated the obvious. Robin’s smile widened, and if she thought anything of it, it didn’t show. 

“Pleased to meet you, Caitlyn,” she grinned, “the Mayor sent me out here so I could show you to your farm--he’s there, he’s just busy setting things up for your arrival. Don’t think he’s slept a wink since he found out.”

My cheeks flared red again, and I bowed my head hoping to hide the redness under a curtain of forest green hair. I felt a light touch on my shoulder, and glanced up to find Robin smiling at me, the way my mother always did when I was little and she was trying to convince me something wasn’t scary. “Hey,” she bent her knees a bit so her face could find mine from where I was hiding in plain sight. “No need to be embarrassed. To be completely honest, that farm got pretty dilapidated while your Grandpa was away. No one really wanted to touch it--it was kind of a memorial for him, you know?” I nodded quietly. “So Mayor’s just getting the cabin cleaned up so it's not so gross for your first night--no need for Stardew’s only farmer to live in squalor.”

“I just feel a bit uncomfortable with someone cleaning for me,” I shrugged my free shoulder, not wanting her to think her re-assurance was unwelcome. “It  _ is _ a nice gesture,” I gave Robin a small smile, “I guess people aren’t as nice in the city.”

“All the better you’re here,” Robin removed her hand and put it in the pocket of her hoodie. “It’s a shame that being nice isn’t common outside Stardew.”

“You’re telling me,” I hitched up my bag from where it had slid down on my shoulder. All my belongings were getting heavy, and the sun was already starting to dip behind the mountains.

Robin seemed to notice that at the same time I did because she turned on her heel and took a couple steps down the tree lined path. “You ready to see your new home?”

“Oh yeah!” My heart skipped a beat thinking of the fields of grass and trees I could call my own. I took a few steps after her before turning and casting one last look at Pam who over the course of Robin and I’s conversation had slumped into a whimpering mess on the floor. I looked back at the fire haired woman who just shook her head and motioned me to follow her. I nodded and turned back to the darkening forest hoping that my first night here would be less eventful than my arrival. 


	3. Crystal Stream Farm

The path from the bus into the outskirts of Stardew was well worn through years of use. The rut in the ground that we traveled down showed the damp dark dirt that made up the terrain in the small valley. It puffed around my feet quietly as we walked showering my boots with their first taste of dirt. 

Robin Rosenbloom, as I had just found out her surname, chattered along as we walked about her work and how she worked. I would need to gather the gold, supplies, and then she would lend her expertise and actually craft what was commissioned. Simple enough. I would just have to prioritize what I needed first and see the lay of the land before I went into any talks of commissioning any work from her.

I liked Robin. Her voice reminded me of my mother’s. It was warm, inviting, and it left me a little homesick. She spoke with her hands a lot, gesturing for emphasis as she went on about her building process, stopping only to swear under her breath when her hand would get scratched by an outstretched branch.

“Is it just you in Stardew, Robin?” I cut in after she had taken a moment from her rambling to breathe. We took a curve and the path opened up just enough for us to walk side by side.

“Just me? Oh no. My family is here, too.” She smiled wide at the path before her. “My husband, Demetrius is a scientist--he studies the nature in the valley, very boring to me, but he loves it.” I nodded. “Then there’s my children. Sebastian who just came home from college. He didn’t find a job right out of the gate, so he’s staying here to save up money before he heads off again--whenever that will be,” Her orange ponytail bobbed behind her as she shook her head. “Still, it’s nice to have him here again.”

“Cool, he seems about my age then,” I hoped I would meet some of the younger townsfolk sooner rather than later. I was always a bit of an introvert, but even for introverts you need some interaction to make your solace all the more special. 

“He’s twenty-five, so yeah, there abouts,” she looked over at me and her smile turned into a conspiratorial smirk. “I wouldn’t hope to catch him any earlier than two or so in the afternoon. He’s not a morning person, so he gets up late, and then he spends all day on his computer. He does go out for a cigarette once it cools down in the evening, though.”

I blinked back at her and gave her what I hoped looked like a pleased smile. That train of dialogue was a lot more specific than it should be.  _ Does she….does she think I want to hook up with her son? _ Time to backpedal. Last thing I need is for the town carpenter think I’m here for hookups...with her kid.

“Yeah, that’s cool,” I nodded slowly, “Pam was saying there’s a few people around my age here. It’d be nice to have some friends starting out.” The eager look on her face faded a bit as she took me at my word, though the smile stayed in place. 

“Seb’s friends Sam and Abigail are a little bit younger, but they’re good kids. I know you’ll meet Abigail pretty quick, her father owns the general store. That's where most people get seeds for their gardens, so I expect you might head there as well...unless you are thinking of a Joja membership?”

The corners of my mouth immediately turned down. _Joja? Here? Can’t a girl get a break?_ I thought that coming to Pelican Town would mean that I could get away from big corporations. An image of a royal blue cockroach with a giant smile scuttled through my mind. I shuddered and sighed. Looks like Pierre was going to be getting a lot of business from me--because Joja certainly wasn’t.

“Nah, I’m done with Joja,” I shook my head for emphasis. “I’ll stop by and see Pierre tomorrow. I need to get started as soon as possible.”

Robin’s eyes widened a bit at my statement. “Oh, so you’re familiar with farming?” She paused to pull a low hanging branch out of the way and let me pass. I chuckled.

“Ohhhhh, no,” I held up my hands and pushed them out at her to put a kibosh on her line of thinking. “I know nothing of farming...well...only what I’ve read. I did some research before I came here. You know, what crops grow best when, what to expect out of farm life, basic animal husbandry--those kind of things.”

“Well that’s...interesting,” she looked slightly let down by my statements but quickly erased any trace of such feelings from her face pretty quickly, and went back to her welcoming smile. “I hope everything works out for you,” Her feet crunched a bit on fallen leaves as we walked. 

I could see a break in the trail a few yards ahead. I saw a log on the ground and a few large rocks scattered about, and more importantly:  sun. This trail was so shaded I wondered if I would even get wet if it were raining. No doubt Spring showers would test that theory soon enough. 

As we neared the clearing I could make out a sign on a post to the right just before the debris started:  Crystal Stream farm. This was it! A strangled squeak rose from my throat causing Robin to side eye me, laugh, and place a warm hand on my shoulder. She squeezed gently and let go, and it almost felt as if my mom was here with me guiding me to my new home.

The trees above broke and I walked out of the shade into the warm sun of the valley. The surrounding fence was old, and surprisingly intact for how long the farm had been dormant. Ahead to my right up a short set of stairs was the cabin. It was barely twice the size of my room at my parents house, but it was all mine. The bottom of the wall and the foundation I could see from under the wrap around porch was cobble stone, and the wood above it was a marred and dirt-covered white. The roof was tiled in a deep gray slate, and vines clung to the siding in several places giving it a cottage like feel.

“This is amazing,” I looked at Robin who had been watching me check out the cabin expectantly. “You can keep with the same style, right? I mean if I ever get the funds to expand?”

“Sure,” Robin walked off around the side and checked out the rear of the building. “I can make sure to keep with the theme. Shouldn’t be too difficult--might be more materials, though.”

“Not a problem,” A wide grin forced itself across my face. I hopped in place my hands clapping softly as I noticed the cobblestone chimney in the back right of the cabin, and the built in wood storage to the left of the door.  _ PopPop you thought of everything _ !

Suddenly the door of the cabin burst open nearly flying off its old rusted hinges. I jumped as the old wood hit the side of the building with a thunderous ‘thunk’, my hand flying to cover my pounding heart. An older gentleman, probably early sixties strode out of the cabin arms full of cleaning supplies. 

“Afternoon!” He called from beneath a gray bristly mustache. 

“Afternoon,” I closed the distance quickly, wanting to be ready to shake the man’s hand as soon as he had one free. I already knew from Robin, and his familiar voice, that this was Mayor Lewis, I had already spoken to him on the phone a few days ago when I called to let him know to expect activity on the farm. We had gotten into a brief talk about my grandfather and how they were pretty close when he still lived here. 

The Mayor fumbled setting down the bucket, mop, broom and rags he had as he rushed to meet me halfway. The bucket dropped onto the warped wooden porch spilling suds all over the floor and splashing back up onto the Mayor’s purple pants causing him to go slightly pink from under his mustache. 

We ended up shaking hands from the bottom of the stairs. He was shorter than me by a few inches, so I had to look slightly down to be able to meet his twinkling eyes. He smiled up at me and winked, tipping his cabbie hat with his free hand. “It’s a pleasure to finally have you here, Miss Summerfield. The town is all in a buzz waiting to meet you. We haven’t had a farmer in Pelican town since your grandfather left.”

“I’m so excited to be here, Mayor,” we let go and I immediately used the extra free hand to help pull my bag back up onto my shoulder. “It’ll be so nice to meet everyone, as well. I’ve already heard about some of them from Pam and Robin. Good things.”

“Good, good, I’m glad,” he beamed and gestured behind him to the cabin, “got her all cleaned up for you. Dealing with dirt and cobwebs mostly. Marnie, our rancher brought some spare sheets--they’re on the bed for you.”

I fought the heat rising in my cheeks.  _ Hospitality is no reason to go red in the face,  _ I reminded myself. They probably figured I’d need some sort of help since I would be starting from scratch. It was to be expected. “I’ll be sure to say ‘thank you’ when I see her,” I smiled as Robin stepped up just off to the Mayor’s side. “I was just telling Robin how excited I am to hopefully expand the house.”

“Now don’t let her push you around,” the Mayor turned and gave Robin a frosty glare, “nothing wrong with the cabin the way she is. Served your grandpa just fine.”

“It wasn’t so crusty back then,” Robin quipped.

Before I could laugh, the Mayor turned on his heels, pointed a large finger at her face, and growled: “RUDE!” My laughter stopped immediately at the sudden change in disposition. For a short guy, the Mayor could be quite intimidating. Robin seemed to wilt as well, and she shrunk back a few steps, hands in her mustard colored pockets.

The rustle of purple pants signaled the Mayor spinning around again, but instead of anger hidden behind salt and pepper facial hair, I saw the smiling old man from before. “Excuse Robin, she just hasn’t had much work recently. She’s a bit over excited to have someone in town that might need her services.”

“Oh it’s not a problem at all,” I flashed them both a smile, “I’m excited to have a carpenter so close by. I’m hoping it won’t be too long before I need a well, and a Silo...things of that nature.”

“Oh...well...I see,” he fumbled for words and went quiet for a moment. I took the time to look behind me to get the lay of the land, as I had focused all of my previous attentions on the cabin. I expected some rocks, branches and weeds, but what I found was an overgrown mess. There were full grown trees in the middle of where I had expected to plant, weeds everywhere, and large basketball sized rocks all over the place.

I swallowed loudly and turned to look back at the Mayor, who I caught eyeing me skeptically. I guess people here, though nice had the expected reactions of a twenty-something with no experience coming to farm on a whim. Skepticism was good. It was healthy.

_ Hell you should probably be more skeptical yourself, _ I sighed lightly and turned back to the farm for a moment. How and the hell was I going to do this? I had never picked up a farm tool in my life and I expected to be able to clear this land, plant crops, and tend to animals?  _ How in the hell do I do this? _

__ “I have no idea what I’m doing,” I looked back at Robin and the Mayor. “I just left because I hated my life. I’ve never worked a farm. I don’t know where to begin.” A panic induced lump was rising in my throat at my words. I hadn’t even stopped to think about what I would do once I got here--sure I researched, but research is easy. Putting that into practice, that would be the hard part.

Robin stepped up and put a warm hand over my own. “Listen--listen, hey, listen to me. You’re going to be fine, you got this. Work in steps. It doesn’t have to be cleared by tomorrow, and it doesn’t have to all be planted by next week.” She squeezed my hand and held it there this time, lending me some positivity that I was sorely lacking in.

“If you need help, just ask,” Mayor Lewis added, “It’s a bit of a walk, but it’s not too bad. Any one of us has had some gardening experience--had to since your Grandpa left...we can all be of some help.”

Nodding, I sucked in a deep breath and held it while he spoke, only releasing my breath when he was done. They were right, I wasn’t alone. Wasn’t that why I came here? To have help, and to see friendly faces every day? Sure I was inexperienced but everyone has to start somewhere--hell, PopPop started there after my grandma died. 

_ I  _ can _ do this.  _ I had to do this, I had fought to be here, and there wasn’t any going back now, especially with my only exit being broken down in the middle of the highway. 

“There, see,” Robin squeezed my hand one last time before letting go and crossing her arms. “You’ll be fine.”

The Mayor looked me up and down for a moment and then frowned. “You look exhausted. Why don’t you take today to settle in and get some sleep. You’ll have your first of many busy days tomorrow,” he turned and headed back up the creaky steps to his cleaning supplies and gathered them quietly. “That box between the gate and the cabin is your shipping box--just drop whatever you want to sell in there, and I’ll pick it up overnight,” he stepped gingerly back down the stairs and winked at me. “Don’t sleep much, too close to death.”

“Oh,” I blinked and leaned a little bit away from him.

“I’m kidding, I’m just an insomniac,” he chuckled and headed past Robin. “Got me a long walk back with these supplies, and I’m sure you’re ready to settle in and get off your feet while you can.”

“Sure, sure,” My bag was getting heavier by the minute but I didn’t want to set it into the dark earth and dirty my father’s bag. 

Robin smiled and raised a hand to me in a silent wave before turning and following Mayor Lewis out of the gate and into the dark path. I watched them walk away for a while, talking and laughing--all traces of the Mayor’s mood swing forgotten. It was just the two of them in nature enjoying eachother’s company. 

_ That is what I want. _ I smiled as they disappeared.  _ True friendship _ . 

The sun was almost hidden behind the mountains that encircled the valley, it was going to be pitch black out here, and I was going to be caught in it if I didn’t act fast. I hitched up my bag one last time and ascended the creaking stairs and walked into the small cabin. 

Under the window to the right of the door lay an oversized single bed with fresh sky blue sheets and a cobalt quilt folded near the footboard. In the opposite corner along the back of the cabin was the fireplace, already lit thanks to the Mayor. It cast an orange glow over the rest of the room lighting it just enough so that I could see. There was a small half wall behind which I could see a sink. I walked over and noticed that on one side of the sink, closest to the half wall sat a toilet, and on the other against the back wall was an old claw foot tub, freshly cleaned thanks to the Mayor. I smiled at the tub knowing how much people back in the city would love to have one--and here I had one for free. 

I took a step back and turned to see not a kitchen in the remaining corner of the room, but a small table with a TV on it. I did a double take of the space and stopped. _No kitchen? Not even a fridge?_ _How the hell am I supposed to eat?_ I frowned at the area where my kitchen should have been and made a mental note to talk to Robin about how much the upgrade cost would be.

My feet screamed at me from inside their leather prisons. Since I wasn’t sure about where to get food, and I had only brought snacks for the trip there, I guess I was going to bed hungry. I un-shouldered my bag and let it drop to the floor at the foot of my bed. The pressure lifting from my sore joint was almost heavenly. The rubber soles of my boots squeaked against the hardwood as I shuffled back and collapsed onto the full size bed. It was incredibly soft and I found myself sinking down into the cool clean sheets as a massive yawn escaped me.

All the excitement of the day and meeting new people had worn me out. I needed to sleep stat, and I didn’t think I’d have time for pajamas before I was too tired to move. I had half a mind to sleep in my shoes, but I didn’t want to ruin the sheets Marnie had so graciously donated for me, so I hoisted myself up and leaned down to begin unlacing my boots.

_ Tomorrow’s going to be a hell of a day, _ I yawned again thinking about the debris in the field was more overwhelming than exciting. Robin was right though, if I cleared enough space for a small number of crops, I could get seeds in the ground tomorrow. 

I let my boots clatter to the floor as I lifted my weary feet up onto the mattress and slid myself into the center of the bed. The cool pillow was a salve for the warm Spring air that I had just been standing in. I could feel sleep coming fast and I knew for sure now that pajamas weren’t an option.  _ Oh well _ , I yawned and rolled over to my left side, my underwire in my bra creaking as I did so.

_ You did it,  _ I smiled sleepily against my pillow,  _ you made it.  _

That first night in Stardew Valley I fell asleep to the crackle of flames and the creaks of old wood, and I dreamt of the little farm and the little community I had inherited from my wonderful Grandfather who loved me enough to give me the best gift of all:  happiness.


	4. Famished

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> My legs shook as I ascended the steps from the warm welcoming water of the bath house. It was 7pm on my first full day in the Valley and I hadn't eaten a fucking thing other than one lowly horseradish I had found on the way into town this morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So my sister is my beta reader, and also a Sebastian mega fan. Her main critique for the first three chapters was 'not enough Sebastian'.
> 
> Here you go you thirsty bitch.

* * *

 

My legs shook as I ascended the steps from the warm welcoming water of the bath house. It was 7pm on my first full day in the Valley and I hadn't eaten a fucking thing other than one lowly horseradish I had found on the way into town this morning. Thanks to no kitchen and inadvertently blowing my proverbial load at Pierre's on seeds, I didn't have enough to so much as get a salad at the Stardrop Saloon.

 

I was screwed. I had at least three days until my first crop of parsnips would have grown to full size and even then I couldn't eat my only source of income. I had to sell them so I could continue to produce so I wouldn't be headed back to a dark Joja cubicle in twelve months time.

 

My day, other than being starving for most of it, was full of hard work and new faces. I had worn my best farmer get-up that was Spring appropriate: denim shorts and a white t-shirt. I had gotten up before the crack of dawn to start the momentous task of clearing out enough land for the fifteen surprise parsnip seeds Lewis had nicely (read: creepily) left in my house over the course of the night as I slept.

 

By the end of the morning I had gotten pretty good and chopping the fallen logs and large rocks into more manageable pieces that could be carried to the descent sized empty space behind the shipping box. I wanted to save everything I could so I could upgrade my house as soon as possible, because, you know, I need to eat.

 

The easiest part of my morning had to have been clearing the weeds. The scythe was so light and sharp that it took no effort to hack down the knee high weeds. Hell, I even got some extra seeds out of the deal, so all in all before I went into town, fifteen parsnips and five mystery seeds were in the ground and watered.

 

Around noon I decided to take a break from working on the farm and head in to see what Pierre's prices were, and try and meet more of the towns people. I didn't have a map on now to get there, but I was able to back track how Robin and I got to the farm and passed the turn off for the bus. The straight path emptied me out onto a cobblestone path way right next to a sign that said 'Clinic'. I walked around the front of the building and was in the town square.

 

It was a beautiful little space, there were potted flowers and a few trellises scattered about the perimeter of the cobblestone, as well as a few bushes and benches as well. I could see myself sitting out here with a book on a cool fall afternoon taking advantage of the quiet and the scenery.

 

After ogling at the scenery I had headed in and met Pierre, his wife Caroline. They were both perfectly pleasant, even if Pierre did come on a bit strong about me buying from him vs Joja. I told him there was nothing to worry about and explained that I had just come from working a Joja job and wasn't interested in re-visiting the company anytime soon. That seemed to put him at ease.

 

I ended up picking up more seeds over the course of the conversation. Pierre's prices were fairly descent, but I was still left with only one hundred gold when I walked out of the store, my small backpack filled to the brim with seeds.

 

Next I stopped by the Stardrop Saloon hoping to grab some lunch. Gus was welcoming enough, but I did see, his cheapest menu item, a simple salad was about one hundred and twenty gold out of my price range. I back tracked on my looking at the menu saying that I had work to attend to and left, stomach growling.

 

The following few hours were spent wandering the town and knocking on doors to introduce myself to whomever answered. It was nearly alarming how welcoming and nice most people were, save for the two older people I met, Evelyn and George. George just didn't seem to want to be bothered, and Evelyn wouldn't stop glaring at my tattoo. After the door was shut a little harder than necessary, I shrugged it off well aware that not everyone was going to like me.

 

All in all I think I met about half the town before I headed back to the farm at five o' clock to get my backpack full of seeds in the ground before I got dark. I was already on fumes and ready for bed, but I had heard Caroline mention something about a bath house North of town that was pretty good at relaxing sore muscles at the end of a long day of work.

 

That sounded amazing right now. My joints were screaming at me every time I thought about moving, and as much as I yearned for a mattress and a pillow, I knew I needed to do whatever I could to make the next day easier.

 

I got back to the farm and hastily planted a few more rows of seeds. I had gotten some beans, some potatoes, a few flowers and a shit ton of cauliflower. The cauliflower would have to be babied a bit longer than the others, but the selling price I saw on Pierre's counter made it too good to pass up. When all was said and done I had a fair sized patch of tilled and watered dirt filled to the brim with all kinds of seeds.

 

I looked off to the West and saw that the sun was already starting to sink below the mountains. If I wanted to get to the bath house before it got dark I would have to hurry and get my suit. The floors of my cabin groaned as I speedily made my way to my duffel bag and emptied it out onto my bed in search of the two piece spider web bikini that I had bought myself last Summer. It hadn't been used since as I didn't really have time to swim with work and friends, but I would take a peek at it from time to time and long for the day that it would be given use.

 

My small backpack was packed with a towel and my swim suit and I was off, being sure to leave the door unlocked as I had yet to find a key for the place. The sun was lower now, and the shadows were stretching far across the path to the North of the farm. When I had been speaking to Caroline earlier in the day she had made mention that the bath house was North of Robin's home, and that the path above my farm connected straight to Robin's. _Easy enough._

 

The path was pretty straight, save for one bend that took the past East at a certain point. I kept a look out for more horseradish but only found dandelions and daffodils. The path was even and well worn, just like the ones I had taken earlier in the day making it easier to put what little pep I had left back in my step in my haste to get into a pool of scalding water.

 

Ahead of me I saw a house. Two story, blue roof with dark wood paneling with what looked to be a small yard out front. I trudged along, admiring how well the house seemed to be kept as I neared when I heard the faint creak of a door opening.

 

Out of what I assumed was the front door stepped a man with shaggy raven black hair. I was too far to tell how tall he was, but his shoulders looked to be broad under his black pullover sweater. As he turned, I noticed that the other half of his head was shorter than the rest, though from what little detail I could make out the long side blended into the short side seamlessly. His brows were thick and dark, and his eyes seemed weary.

 

Stereotypical goth boy, I mused. He had closed the door behind him and turned my direction and began walking around his house and up to the path north his hand in his hoodie pocket rummaging for something. _Maybe he's going where I'm going?_ My stomach jumped a little at the thought of seeing a guy slick and glistening with water. It had been a while, a long while since I had been close to a man.

 

Then reality came crashing down on me like a ton of bricks--this had to be Robin's son, Sebastian. _Shit,_ I frowned as I broke out of the path and into the small clearing around the Rosenbloom house. Even though Robin had seemed all too keen for me to get to know her son, I was pretty sure it was not a common business practice to get involved with the son of someone you contract to work for you. It just seemed weird to me.

 

Still, I turned after Sebastian and made my way up the easy incline to the bath house. I could swear I could hear my knees creaking as I took each step. Fuck if this is how farm life is going to be the next few weeks are going to suck. I ran a hand through my short forest green hair, my hand sticking in strands that had dried together due to all the sweating I had done earlier. I frowned and yanked the knots out, wincing as they came undone barely noticing that I had hit flat ground again.

 

The Valley had grown dark but up here a couple points of light caught my attention. First was the row of lamps over the platform in the top right of the clearing. I looked around and noticed a set of train tracks bisecting the area and wondered how I hadn't thought of how the town got in its goods before.

 

Second was a small red glow just out of the reach of the train station lights. It moved upward and then flared for a moment before dropping back down to its original height. _A cigarette?_ I tilted my head in confusion until I remembered that Sebastian had come up here and Robin had made mention that he smoked. Slowly the smell of clove drifted to me on the wind. I inhaled deeply and smiled. The scent reminded me of the goth clubs I used to visit in ZsuZsu City.

 

I decided not to bother him, he seemed to have come up here to be alone, and being an introvert myself I was acquainted to the feeling.

 

The third point of light was the one I was heading towards now. A small little lantern over the door that simply read: Bath House. The building, line most of the others in Pelican Town was made up of old wooden planks, held together by nails and a prayer. The entrance to the building had dark mahogany shingles, but the rest of the roof was peaked glass that didn't really fit the style in the rest of the town.

 

The Bath House was a nice place once you got in it. There were private rooms for men and women, and the humidity of the heated pool cleared out my sinuses pretty well once I was in there long enough. As soon as I had changed I stowed my stuff and headed into the pool room.

 

It was larger than I thought it would be. I was expecting several smaller hot tubs, but it was about the size of the community pool near my house back in ZsuZsu. Steam rose off the water and beckoning me into the hot pool. I quickly obliged and stepped down into the nearly scalding water.

 

At first my skin hurt from the heat, but after I adjusted I began to feel all my muscles relax and unwind one by one. I moved through the water slowly sinking into it until my head was the only part of me above its surface, lazily treading water in the deepest part of the pool.

 

Pelican Town wasn't bad so far, and if I had time to come had time to come here at the end of the day, I could see this being a new ritual. Get up, work, socialize, back to work, and relax? I could get used to that.

 

'Grrrrrrrrrwwwwlll' my stomach growled so loud I could swear it echoed in the room. Food was the problem I needed to solve. It was my fault for not getting more information from Lewis when I had called. If I had I would have brought a whole separate bag with rations for my first few weeks until I had pulled in enough money to start being able to buy things other than seeds. Hopefully, I would get lucky tomorrow and find more food lying about in the forest. Worse comes to worse, I could always stay up late and dumpster dive at the saloon.

 

I became aware after a few more minutes of floating that it was becoming more and more difficult to draw breath. My lungs felt heavy, and slow, and I was beginning to feel dizzy all over again. _Time to go_ , I kicked off the far wall of the pool and glided effortlessly back to the stairs closest to the changing room, trying to ignore the tiny bit of panic I was feeling at how difficult it was to fill my lungs.

 

The clock on the wall said 7 p.m. as I rose from the water, lightly gasping. I stumbled and slipped on the wet tile, landing on my right knee on the way down. My eyes watered from the pain, but now wasn't the time to stop and cry. I needed to get the hell out of here before I passed out. My attempts to intake oxygen were becoming louder and louder as I sucked in the damp air.

 

I crawled across the warm tiles to the changing room quicker than I could walk there, and I half debated just leaving the bath house in my swim suit just so I could get back outside as fast as possible. The edges of my vision were beginning to get fuzzy and the worry that I was going to pass out was growing with every inhale.

 

Still, I didn't want to leave my bag, so I knocked the swinging door into the dressing room wide open and scooted through on my knees wincing every time my bruised knee hit a grout line. My speed was only hindered by my arms that were increasingly feeling like jelly with every pull they had to endure.

 

After a few seconds I made it to my locker and braced myself on the bench next to it to stand. My bruised knee shot pain up into my hip, and I wondered if I had done more damage than just a bruise. I grabbed the thick leather strap of my bag and stuffed my clothes into it, letting out a loud wheeze as I did so. The vignette of blackness around my vision was getting thicker and my head was beginning to pound. If anything I could rest on one of the barrels outside and put my clothes on over my sopping swim suit there.

 

I shoved my feet back into my boots, and skipped out on re-lacing them. My heart was pounding in my ears and I needed the fresh air of the mountain fast. I felt like a Clydesdale as I stomped toward the door to the entry way, not wanting to chance sliding my feet across the slick tile. I made it to the entry way with out so much as a skid.

 

"You can do this," my lungs squeaked out the last bit of air, and I greatly struggled trying to refill them. This time when I stumbled it wasn't due to the floor, it was because the pounding in my head had reached a fever pitch and was messing with my equilibrium. Crashing to the floor again was less fun than it was the first time. This time I hit my elbow. The following pop of my skin bursting open made my stomach heave.

 

 _Great first day, Cait. Hey can I go to your bath house and bleed all over it? Kay thanks._ I sniffed back tears. I was tired and I wanted to open the door and be back at my cabin without having to walk all the way there with a split elbow and a bruised knee.

 

I resumed the tried and true method of movement by sliding across the floor to get to the door, and hoped to god I didn't have to put my full body weight into opening it again. I didn't have the energy to do it after all this. Reaching up to grab the doorknob was almost an insurmountable task as I fought against the weight of my own arm. Once I gripped the pitted metal, I turned the knob with as much force as I could muster and pushed, and by some sort of divine interference, the door swung open.

 

"Oh thank Christ," I mumbled and reached a damp hand out to the dark earth. The relative cool of the mountain air blasted me in the face, giving rise to goosebumps all over my entire body. I drank in the arid air as much as I could, filling my lungs deeply hoping to rid myself of the pounding in my head and to regain my vision enough that I could get back home.

 

There was a large barrel right next to the door, and that seemed like a good enough place as any to rest. I pressed my weakening arms to the sides of the door and gathered my legs under me, standing as carefully as I could. The outside air chilled and dried my skin as I moved, leaving me pleasantly cool, but nowhere near as refreshed as I needed to be. Leaning toward the barrel I took a stilted step, worried my trembling legs would give way.

 

My chest heaved as I leaned against the barrel, resting my forearms on the rim. I finally realized why the asthmatic kids in school were so scared of their attacks--not being able to catch your breath sucks. I was so intent on listening to my wheezing that I didn't hear the crunch of dry earth behind me.

 

"You okay," a soft, deep obviously male voice inquired from behind me. I stiffened realizing that I was practically shoving my ass in the face of whomever it was. "You're bleeding,"

 

"Uhh yeah," I pushed myself up into a standing position and slowly turned to face the voice and hide my bleeding elbow at the same time. "I slipped," I looked up and found myself staring into the dark brown eyes of Sebastian. He was alarmingly attractive, with a chiseled jaw and high cheekbones under dark bushy brows. He raised his right hand and took a puff off of another clove.

 

The smell, though pleasant before now tickled the back of my throat. I stifled a cough, bringing a hand to my lips and hoped that the urge to hack up my lungs would go away.

 

"Is this bothering you?" He turned his head and exhaled off in the direction of the woods before looking back at me curiously.

 

"Not at all," My head shook as I tried to convince myself of what I was saying. "Just...long day," The pounding in my head was getting worse and I was starting to get tunnel vision. I groped behind me for the barrel's top and tried to use that to keep me standing until this passed.

 

Sebastian's lip pursed and one of his bushy brows lifted as he contemplated my answer. After a long moment he spun the cigarette between two pinched fingers as he worked to field strip the cigarette. After a few spins the cherry hit the dirt and was promptly stomped out by a black on black converse. "You sure you're okay?"

 

"Uh huh," My shaky response was truly unconvincing. I found the strap for my backpack with my hand and slung it over my shoulder. "I just, I think I was in there too long and I haven't eaten. I'll be fine."

 

Again he looked at me skeptically, his eyes traveled over me as he scrutinized my response, no doubt looking for signs that betrayed how I was truly feeling. I tried to keep myself still as he looked me over. It was probably a stupid thing to do to lie to him, for all I know he was as nice as his mother and would invite me in for some food--but I didn't want pity, and I didn't want his worry. I was the one who had made the journey without getting all the necessary information, and I didn't want to impose on anyone.

 

"Just eat something when you get home, okay," his eyes found mine again. "You're looking a bit pale," the corner of his mouth twitched up into a charismatic smirk.

 

"Nice goth joke," I chuckled. "Sebastian, right?"

 

"Guilty," he reached out a hand for me to shake and for a moment I wondered if I could manage without my grip on the barrel. _Awww hell_ , I took the chance and reached my non-injured arm and shook his hand. His skin was soft but his grip was firm, and I became increasingly aware of the callouses I had developed over the course of the day.

 

"Its nice to meet you. I'm Caitlyn Summerfield." Our hands parted, his going to his hoodie pocket and mine going back to the lip of the barrel. "Sorry I'm not more...clothed."

 

"I don't mind," the words seemed to be out of his mouth before he even thought what he was saying. His flirtatious comment hung in the air for a moment before both our faces went pink.

 

"Oh, okay," I giggled and ran a hand through my hair like I usually do when I'm embarrassed or stressed. Sebastian on the other hand turned towards the forest and hung his head so he was looking at his feet, the shaggy part of his head hiding most of his face.

 

"Sorry about that, I...words. I'm not good with them." He sighed heavily and looked back at me briefly while gesturing back towards the path. "Well if you're okay, I'm gunna go."

 

"Sure, sure," I nodded trying to fight the smile that threatened to split my face. "You probably _just_ got super busy."

 

"Yeah, I--" he paused and his head dropped slightly as my dig hit home. He looked back up at me, an embarrassed grin under pink cheeks. "That's not fair."

 

"Who said anything about fair," the grin broke through as I spoke. Joking around with Sebastian was taking my mind off the tremble in my knees and the hollow feeling in my stomach. I was so distracted that I attempted to stand without the aid of the barrel. Big mistake.

 

I lurched forward and fell once more to my hands and knees in the dirt. My head spun so hard I was beginning to feel nauseous, and I worried about what would come up if I did barf since I hadn't really eaten. Sebastian was at my side a couple seconds later. He placed a light hand on my shoulder and gave it a rub.

 

My stomach heaved and what little horseradish was in my stomach was now on the stoop outside the bath house. Sebastian's hand withdrew and through the fuzz that clouded my thoughts I kicked myself for nearly barfing on my new acquaintance.

 

"You are so not okay," the worry in his voice just made me feel worse. I heard a few muted beeps and then the faint sound of a phone dialing out. Though curious I didn't dare turn my head in case I had to vomit again. I felt overwhelmingly tired and my eyes were starting to close on their own volition. I swayed on my hands and knees wishing for the soft embrace of my mattress. It wasn't long until I heard a faint, groggy ' _this is Harvey_ '.

 

"Hey Harvey, it's Sebastian. I'm with Caitlyn, the new farmer. She's not doing well. I don't think she's eaten all day, and she looks like she's passing out." I sniffed back the sudden urge to cry. Everything I had done today, meeting all the new people, doing all the hard work on the farm, everything was going to be eclipsed by this.

 

Once more a tentative hand was placed on my shoulder, but this time there was no movement. Sebastian was 'mmmhmm'ing along to whatever instruction he was being given then after another moment: "Naw, I got this, thanks Harvey. Go get ready for bed."

 

Whatever he had been told, Sebastian had decided that he was going to take care of it, which made me wonder if there was lithium or something in the water that made people so nice and relaxed. I did my best to right myself , putting my weight back on my shins and knees, and gave my full attention to Sebastian. "So what now?"

 

"Now," he stood, brushed off his black pants and headed behind me to the barrel where my bag was and slung the leather strap over his shoulder. "Now, we get some food in you and get you to sleep."

 

"You don't have to do that--I should be fine tomorrow," I protested reaching up for my bag. The black haired boy ignored me and instead pulled me up by my outstretched hand and slun my arm up over his shoulder.

 

"Caitlyn, I'm assuming 'didn't eat very much' is code for nothing at all," his eyes locked with mine at the mention of 'nothing'. The sweet clove on his breath brought with it tense words, and a wave of guilt washed over me. "You can tell me why later, if you want, but for right now, I'm going to take you to my place, and make you a sandwich or something." Sebastian took a tentive step forward and stopped waiting for me to follow.

 

"Why are you doing this? I mean, why not let Harvey deal with me?" I stepped after him and so began the incredibly slow process. He took a step, I took a step.

 

A long low sigh escaped my counterpart, his head bowed as he watched our feet to make sure they didn't get tangled up. "Because my mother raised me right, that's why," he didn't even try to hide the reverence in his voice when he mentioned Robin. "Also, she'd kill me if she found out I just brushed you off onto Harvey and cost you money when all you need is some food and rest."

 

He stopped taking steps for a moment halting our progress to his house. I looked over at him, and could almost see the wheels turning in his head as he seemed to be debating something internally. "What is it?" My head tilted as I craned my neck to see his expression clearer.

 

My movement seemed to snap him out of whatever track he was on, or he had finally decided as his expression changed from deep thought to unease. "Hey, this is going to take all night, do you mind if....if I carry you?"

 

I blinked at the request and wondered how it would be possible. His shoulders were broad, and I guess I couldn't see how he was built well due to the baggy hoodie, but he wasn't too much taller than me and I really didn't want to fall down the incline and roll to his front door. Though he did have a point about our current arrangement taking forever.

 

"You won't drop me?"

 

"I promise, but first off, lets make this less awkward for the both of us," Sebastian slung my bag off of my shoulder, handing it to me quickly. He unwound his arm from around my waist and began pulling at his sleeves in a bid to remove his arms from them. The sound of skin sliding on cotton signaled his success, along with his pail arms surfacing from the bottom of his sweatshirt, thumbs hooked around the hem, so he could lift the material. In a matter of moments the sweater was traded for my bag so that I could put it on.

 

I obliged doing my best to stay as steady as possible while wrestling with the warm garment. Still, eventually I won and I pulled his over sized hoodie over my head, and pulling the hem down as far as it would go. The fabric barely covered my ass, but it was better than being bare.

 

As soon as I signaled that I was ready, Sebastian stooped, His long arm deftly moved between my right leg and his left, and bent to create a bar behind my knees. One swift action later, and I was high off the ground with my arms wrapped around a perfect stranger's neck wearing his hoodie.

 

"Thanks," I mumbled furtively glancing up at him through my lashes. The dark haired man looked back down at me, the corners of his mouth twitching up into a small smile.

 

"Don't mention it."

 


	5. Do Over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Sorry for the wait. I totally forgot to update my story, though I have been writing. You guys get two chapters back to back, and one more on the way. 
> 
> This story will be mainly OC/Sebastian, but I don't want to jump into that right away. Trust me, it'll be worth the wait!

The walk to Sebastian's house was short and sweet now that only one pair of feet were involved. The two short flights of stairs made me feel a little self conscious about my weight, as his feet 'thunk’ed heavily on the rail road tie steps. Still, I didn't slow him down and barely five minutes later and we were in the yellowed light of his porch and he was setting me back down onto solid earth. My stomach relaxed and I realized that I had been clenching my empty stomach and sore muscles trying to seem lighter than I was.

  
  


    I internally rolled my eyes at myself for the instinctual reaction, and pulled the hoodie back down over my now freezing ass. There wasn't any logical reason for my trying to seem light as a feather. From my surreptitious glance earlier as his hoodie was being pulled over his head, I saw that he was built of lithe lean muscle. It was obvious from the bit of stomach I saw as his heather gray v-neck shirt rose, that he worked out at least on occasion. That and having to walk everywhere in the boundaries of Pelican Town, it wasn't hard to see how he kept in shape.

  
  


   As soon as I was on my feet again I saw his hand go past the bare patch of midsection showing, to the front pocket of his black denim pants and to his pocket. He pulled out one of the latest smart phones, little green notification light blinking and briefly glanced at a message on the screen.

  
  


   I did my best to look elsewhere to give him some illusion of privacy, and even went as far as to wobble back a step or two to the edge of the porch light's glow.

  
  


   "Sorry," he muttered, thumbs tapping swiftly on glass, "I am supposed to meet Abigail in a bit. She has to sneak out, her parents are kind of tight-asses."

  "Oh," I nodded. Having met Pierre and Caroline earlier today, there wasn't much I could glean that gave the impression of either of them being tight asses. They did have the same over-friendly greeting that most of the residents of Pelican Town did have, but nothing that would signify them being heavy handed or strict.

  
  


   "She's still in high school, and she wants to be a fighter--like Marlon...not sure if you met him, yet." He glanced up over at me briefly under bushy black eyebrows, and I shook my head in the negative. "Well, he runs the Adventurer's Guild over by the mines. The mines are full of things, monsters from how Marlon describes them...and Abby, well she always has wanted to be the tough girl. Her parents want her to be more...feminine."

  
  


   "That sucks," I frowned at the thought of what it would be like to have my parents not support me in how I am. I am not the most feminine of creatures, but I never thought about going out and fighting monsters, or cave dwelling beings. It probably came from a place of her parents wanting her to be safe, but I can remember how important and final everything feels when you're a teenager, so I could see how upsetting it would be.

  
  


_ God _ , my frown deepened.  _ Did I just have a 'when I was your age' moment? Shit. _

  
  


   "Yeah, she'll be heading over, soon. Hope you don't mind." He whispered and pocketed his phone.

  
  


   "No problem," My legs shook, a reminder of the situation at hand, "I'm the one that surprise-ruined plans." The gravel of his front yard crunched under my docs as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other.

  
  


   "Not ruined, just changed," he let a small smile slip, speaking softly as he turned the handle of the door slowly. I took it he was either keeping quiet for the benefit of the others in the house, or he was doing that 'mysterious goth boy thing' that I was so used to back in ZsuZsu City.

  
  


   Either way I was grateful. Last thing I wanted was for Robin to get that eager look on her face as soon as she saw the two of us together, or worse, angry because it looked like I was wearing her son's clothes and nothing else. The thought left me queasy as it passed through my mind and I glanced over at Sebastian as the door opened wide enough for him to slip through.

  
  


   "Can I uhhh...change somewhere?" His eyebrows pinched together, dissecting my question. "I just don't want to look like I'm naked if your mom wakes up or something."

  
  


   Sebastian's dark eyes widened momentarily as he ran through the scenario in his head, his mom sleepy eyed walking into the kitchen, seeing me sitting in one of the kitchen chairs, one ass-cheek sticking out from her son's sweatshirt eating a sandwich looking like I was preparing for a back woods walk of shame.

  
  


   "Uhhh, sure. There's a bathroom down the hall, but it's near Maru's room...no, she's a light sleeper." His eyebrows pinched together as he tried to figure out where to put the mostly naked girl on his stoop. "Shit...uhhh, you can use my room. It's in the basement. Think you can do stairs?"

  
  


   "Handrails?" My knees shook again almost on queue.

  
  


   "Oh yeah, Carpenter mother," he said as if it explained it all and stepped into the house, my bag still slung over his shoulder. When he turned I could see the sharp lines of shoulder blades beneath his shirt, and my stomach flipped.

  
  


_Calm your shit, Cait._ I blinked away thoughts of bare skin and followed him inside. The house was warm and inviting. The front room had been turned into a space for Robin to run her business. It made sense that since real estate was at a premium in the town square that she would run her business out of her home, it wasn't too far of a walk from the old Community Center above town. The bottom half of the wall was rustic strips of dark wood, and the tops were a dark crimson red. On top of the glossy counter sat an old cash register that faintly glowed in the dim light of the room. Off to the right I could see a much lighter room that looked almost clinical. I tilted my head at the difference between the two styles before mentally shrugging my shoulders.

  
  


   "This way" Sebastian whispered and reached across me to close the door behind us. He set off toward the bright clinical looking room, but made a right toward a small landing. He flicked a light switch on the right wall of the landing and motioned down it.

  
  


   I gulped audibly. This had to be the steepest staircase I had ever seen, and he was expecting me to go down there while I'm stumbling around like a baby giraffe. I looked up at my new companion my worry clearly written on my face.

  
  


   His eyes sparkled in slight amusement in the dim lighting, and the corner of his mouth closest to me was peaked ever so slightly. It was then that I became aware of just how attractive my counterpart was, especially for someone of my aesthetic. Perfectly coiffed, toned just enough, probably could rock a suit, and had a similar sense of humor.

  
  


   "Oh shut up," I lightly nudged his bicep with my own weakened hands. As soon as I made contact an old yet familiar feeling rose in my stomach. Less like butterflies and more like bats. I swallowed as quietly as I could and tried to ignore the tingling that I felt.

  
  


   The longer parts of Sebastian's hair jostled as he laughed, driving the knife a bit deeper before he spoke: "I'll go down first, that way if you trip, you don't have that far to go." Without even checking to see if it was an acceptable arrangement, he headed down a couple of the stairs and stopped looking over his shoulder to make sure I was following.

  
  


   Following behind him one steep step at a time, my knees threatened to give way whenever a new dose of pressure was added. I ended up stumbling into him once, about halfway down, and caught myself on my dad's duffel bag that he had slung over his shoulder. Thankfully all I got was a rush of blood to my face and another chuckle from him.

  
  


   When he reached the bottom, Sebastian took out a key ring from his pocket and unlocked the door swiftly leading me into a rather large sized room. It looked as if the entire basement had been converted to house him, which from what Robin had said made sense as he was home after graduating college.

  
  


   There was the same distressed wood paneling half-way up the wall as there was on the first floor of the house but instead of drywall above it was stacked and mortared river rocks, of all different muted earth tones. As he stepped further in and I made my way down to the last step I saw that to the left of the door there was an end table with a radio and a large black corduroy couch. It looked to be one of those over-stuffed affairs where you just immediately sank in and got lost.

  
  


   Past that was a rather large square desk with two computers on it. One faced the room, the other faced the corner away from prying eyes, with a good view of the door if you were to be sitting at it. Along the far wall was a bookcase that was filled to the brim with books--a good chunk of them seeming to be D&D source materials. I grinned.

  
  


   "What?" Sebastian unslung my dad's bag from his shoulder and tossed it onto the couch. He seemed a bit more uneasy now that we were in his personal place. Probably because his desk area, where he most likely spent most of his time was littered with half empty bottles of water, and soda, some of which had evaporated to the point of becoming syrup.

  
  


   I shook my head, biting my lip, "nothing...nerd." I shuffled over to the couch and dropped down next to my bag, being sure to pull his hoodie over my knees as to not showcase my crotch.

  
  


   "Oh," he shuffled slightly so he was between myself and the bookcase, and I immediately felt a bit bad for making the joke. He had already seemed a bit uncomfortable with my just being in here, and there I go poking at a sore spot.

  
  


   "No," I sighed, " I was just kidding. My friends and I had a game going in ZsuZsu last year before we all got too busy. It was a good time, just...not too many people play now-a-days, y'know?" I looked up at him and caught his expression soften and change from one of unease to one of quiet elation.

  
  


    _God you're adorable._

  
  


   "Oh, well, Abigail, Sam and I play on Saturdays if you're interested. We usually go pretty late into the night, but we all bring food, and have kind of a snack-based potluck. It's a lot of fun." He motioned to a smaller round table that had a graph paper map on it that I had completely overlooked in my first pass of the room. It was set up with three chairs, with a fourth off in one corner that looked to be unused for quite some time by the glint of a cobweb stretching from the backrest to the front of the seat.

  
  


   "Maybe, I think I better get the hang of basic things so far like eating when hungry, and tending to my farm," I snorted and hung my head. "Sorry about that. I would really love to play, I just have a lot going on right now, second day and all."

  
  


   The black haired man took a few steps making his way fluidly to the door and paused at the threshold. "Hey, no worries. If I had taken on what you have, I'd probably be in the same boat." Sebastian turned and offered me a kind smile--not a mysterious goth boy smile, but a 'I've been raised in Pelican Town, and there's lithium in the water' smile.  "I'll go make us some sandwiches. I'll try and take a bit longer than normal so you can get changed." With that he passed through the threshold and off into the stairwell closing the door behind him.

  
  


I stared at the doorway for a moment. _Why do you have to be so damn nice?_ I wondered. _You're just playing into your mother's hands. Fuck it. I'm playing into your mother's hands._ I sighed loudly and rotated my torso, going for my bag, wondering how to stop the feels train that was starting. The last thing I needed was to catch more than a quick make out session right now. I came here to work, not get hung up over a newly graduated goth boy with a penchant for cloves.

  
  


   The first item out of my bag was a pair of black pants. I hadn't any idea how cold it got in the mountains at night, so I had made sure to at least have my lower body covered. Next was a muted purple tank top was next along with a pair of panties, and one of my many lace bras. Hands trembling, I struggled to pull off Sebastian's hoodie, and I wondered, even with him slowing the process of cooking down, if I was doomed to have him find me half naked.

  
  


_ I guess that's a way to catch a man _ , I frowned and finally pulled the last of the hoodie over my head. My body was in good shape, but was still covered by a light layer of baby fat. I mostly had good thought about my form, so I guess him seeing me half clothed wouldn't be too bad, but that still wasn't something to stride for on your first meeting, no matter how good looking the guy was. At least in my opinion.

  
  


   I worked steadily to get my clothes on, Standing once seated on that over-stuffed couch was an issue but once I was up, bikini came off and underwear went on. They were leopard print silk with lace trim boy shorts because my mom told me when I was younger, that life is too short for boring anything. Hair, underwear, didn't matter. I think it was because I was a teen and self conscious, but that day she took me out shopping and all we bought were outrageous bras, panties--it was a day that I've always held near and dear to myself as it was the first day I truly felt comfortable in my skin.

  
  


   Next was pants, and I could have kicked myself for bringing skinny jeans. I tried putting them on standing and ended up falling back into the couch, causing it to hit the chair railing on the wall, making a loud thud. The faint noises of plates and cupboards opening and closing upstairs paused for a beat. I held my breath until it started again a moment later.

  
  


   As quickly as I could I bounced my way on the couch to its arm and used that as a seat so I could painstakingly pull black denim over my just dried legs. It stuck slightly every few inches, and I could only do one leg at a time to keep myself from falling either onto the desk and knocking over old soda, or onto the couch and possibly causing enough racket to bring Sebastian back down.

  
  


   Half way up the second leg, a rustling from across the room caused me to pause. I looked and all I saw was the D&D table, the unused chair, and an oversized queen bed covered with dark linens, and an old purple shag rug, below what looked to be a window. Head cocked I studied it for a moment and realized it had to be an escape hatch in case of fire. Made sense that the basement would have one to make sure it was up to code.

  
  


   The rustling stopped at the same time that I fastened the button on my jeans. I reached up and pulled the strings holding my bikini top on and turned to grab for my leopard lace bra.

  
  


As soon as my back was fully facing the far end of the room, I heard a bang, a creak and a thud, along with a high pitched 'ow'. I stifled my own scream, hands flying to cover my bare chest, as I reflexively turned toward the noise. _What in all the fucks_ , I stared at the the open hatch for the emergency exit hearing the faint sound of crickets from outside when a feminine round face draped in purple popped up from behind the D&D table.

  
  


_Abigail?_ The pain on the girl's face was evident. A black manicured hand appeared on the table top, and pushed causing the rest of the girl to rise into plain view. Her other hand was tending to a rip in the knee, and I remembered my own cut, throbbing from beneath my jeans.

  
  


   She blinked a few times, blue orbs being swallowed by the black painted on them. Her eyebrows were perfectly manicured as well, and her lips were a glossy nude.

  
  


_ She's beautiful _ , I marveled at the girl as she gained her bearings. She still hadn't looked my direction yet, and I felt like any movement would disturb her, and bring attention to my partial nakedness. I looked down at my hands, making sure at least nipples were covered, as there was no way my hands were covering my entire breast.

  
  


   "Seb," the girl's voice was like a bell tinkling, and I could easily see her as being the feminine person her parents apparently wanted her to be. She didn't read like an adventurer to me at all. "I texted you five times, and no answer, what the heck are you--"

  
  


Pause. _Uh oh._

  
  


   Bringing my gaze back to the purple haired girl, I watched an evolution of emotions as she read the situation. Interest upon seeing my face, questioning as she saw bare shoulder, sadness and anger as she saw my hastily censored bare chest, and resolve as she worked her way back up to my face, a smile plastered painstakingly upon it. "Hello."

  
  


   "Hi, uhhh...not Sebastian." I couldn't keep looking at her, so I chose to keep my eyes on the graph paper map on the table. It was kind of hard to look a stranger in the eye when you were topless.

  
  


   "I can see that..." her voice was light, but strained, and I could feel her stare boring right through me. "Why are you half naked?"

  
  


   "Well--" I started fully ready to bear the ugly truth that I was an incompetent asshole who blew all her money on seeds, when the door from the staircase burst open and Sebastian waltzed in with a plate of sandwiches in one hand, bottles of water stowed under the other arm, and a half eaten sandwich in his mouth. I immediately turned my back to him, as soon as his eyes flitted my direction bearing the usually covered part of my cherry blossom tattoo to him, now completely uncovered from bikini strings and faced the wall with the bookcase.

  
  


   A soft 'slap' was followed by a short string of curses, and three plastic-y thuds coming from the male's direction. "Sorry, sorry, I'll uhhh....I'll wait outside. Abby?" I could almost head hear his head nod in the direction of the door. From the corner of my eye I could see Abigail give me one last look before she moved to follow the older man.

  
  


"...Thanks," I called out softly as the door shut. The heat in my face was nearly unbearable. _What in the fuck just happened?_ _Oh nothing, just nearly the worst possible scenario_. My only saving grace was that I had pants on.

  
  


The trembling in my legs had ceased, probably due to the rush of adrenaline coursing through my body, and suddenly I wasn't in the mood to make nice with the carpenter's son and his beautiful friend. I fastened the hooks of my bra in record time, and thrust my arms through the straps,  _ Shoes?  _ I looked down and to the left and saw where my docs had been kicked off. I stepped back into them, these cost a lot of gold, no way I was leaving them behind. I heard a seam pop as I hastily donned my tank top. Grabbing my father's bag, I cinched it shut, and headed for the escape hatch, only pausing slightly to grab a sandwich and jam it into my mouth.

  
  


   The opening for the emergency exit was wide open, and was large enough for me to make it through with my bag slung over my shoulder. A soft yellow light could be seen from above, so I figured it wasn't too far from the porch light. The only way out was a ladder of metal rebar buried half in concrete. It would be hell on my sore feet, but at least it was a way out.

  
  


I made my way up two steps at a time both to put distance from myself from the situation, and to make sure my feet were spared as much as possible. I don't even think I took a breath until I had the familiar feel of gravel under my boots. I looked off to my right and saw that the glow was indeed from the porch light, as it was illuminating the same bright cobalt door I had walked into less than thirty minutes before. _God what I wouldn't give for a re-do_ , I frowned, hitching up my bag and headed off at a brisk pace to the railroad tie staircase that separated me from the path back to my farm.

  
  


   I tried to keep my feet separated as much as I could since my boots were still unlaced, but I was still tripping my way across the front yard. There wasn't any time to stop to lace them. Soon the silence in the room would become suspicious, and Sebastian and Abigail were going to walk into an empty room. I didn't want to be here when they did. The sandwich I had swiped from the tray was doing as well as it possibly could in conjunction with the adrenaline. My legs weren't shaking with every step, and I didn't feel as close to passing out as I did before, however, my stomach was now screaming for more with every bite and I wasn't sure it would stop once the morsel was gone.

  
  


   The hollow ‘thunk’s of the rail road ties signaled the speedy part of my venture being almost over. I wasn't sure why but I felt I could slow down as soon as I was on the Northern path from my farm. Maybe it was due to how overgrown it was--it didn't seem like people travelled that way often. I made a mental note to find some time to clear the path so that it wouldn't take so long to trek next time I decided to take it.

  
  


One last thunk and I was at the clearing above the Rosenbloom household. My sigh of relief was stifled by the sandwich I had shoved in my mouth on the way out, and I finally felt safe enough to take a bite as I headed off to the left on the Northern path to my farm.

  
  


_ Oh. My. God.  _ This had to be the most well made sandwich I had ever eaten. You could taste how fresh the ingredients were. The bread was soft inside with a slight crunch to the crust, the tomato was so sweet and ripe, I don't think I had ever tasted anything like it, and the chicken was so moist it seemed freshly carved from the bird. As much as I wanted to inhale the morsel, I don't think I could've forgiven myself for missing out on how delicious the sum of its parts were.

  
  


   Along the way, I stopped and grabbed a leek, and another horseradish and put them in my bag. Lord knows when I'd get another real meal, and forageables seemed to be the way to go. I had caught some of Livin Off the Land this morning and heard something about spring onions in Cindersap forest, which was just south of my property, so not much of a trek. I could handle heading down there after watering my crops and see what was there.

  
  


I also needed to finish introducing myself to the townspeople. I had met maybe ten of them, and the Mayor said something to the effect of twenty eight were actual residents of Pelican Town. _I wonder if they're all as nice as the ones I've said hello to thus far,_ my eyes squinted and I noticed the lighter dirt of the mountain path was beginning to curve. Not long now. Just go over the tunnel and down some stairs and I would see the old hardwood fence of my property.

  
  


The fast ' _ pat pat pat _ ' of soft earth became audible from behind me. I quickened my pace, hoping I wouldn't be jumped by the homeless man that lived in the woods. I hadn't met him yet, and from what I heard he was rather mild mannered, but just as I didn't know him--he didn't know me, and for all he knew I could be a threat.

  
  


   "Caitlyn!" A deep, hushed voice called out from behind me.

  
  


    _Sebastian. Shit._

  
  


   I had hoped he wouldn't follow after me and would take my leaving for what it was--the end of it. Maybe I could have faced him in a day or two--maybe, but not now, not when the moon was illuminating everything in such a way that made it look all the more beautiful and surreal. The last thing I needed was a more romanticized view of him. This is not what I came here for, this is not what I needed, and from the look on Abigail's face, he was already spoken for.

  
  


   "Caitlyn, wait!"

  
  


_ Nope _ . I shuffled my way quickly, being careful to overstep any overgrown weeds that happened to be growing into the center of the path and made my way like a woman possessed to the top of the staircase. Thankfully they weren't as steep as the ones next to my pursuers house, and I could take them quicker. Stepping quickly, I made my way down, gripping the strap for my father's bag with both hands, pulling it away from my chest and toward my back so that it wouldn't bounce as much.

  
  


   The peaks of the hardwood fence surrounding my farm stood out from the foliage in the moonlight. I was so close, I could almost feel the pillowy softness of my mattress, and the coolness of my pillow from here. My only obstacle: the gate latch. The hinge had been long forgotten, as had the farm, and so it had rusted shut long ago. It had taken me awhile to get out of the gate, and I had no doubt that getting back in would be a hassle.

  
  


   Sure enough, it was almost like the latch hadn't even been touched. I used what was left of my adrenaline and strength to pry the latch open, and succeeded, but only as I felt a light hand on my shoulder. I wheeled around and came face to chest with Sebastian.

  
  


   "Didn't you hear me?" He sounded only vaguely out of breath for the speed of footfall I had heard from behind me.

  
  


   "Yeah," I frowned, "I did." I kept my gaze at his chest, slightly afraid that if I looked up I would see him checking out the curves of my own bosom, and if I did, I didn't know if I'd be able to live it down.

  
  


   "Why didn't you stop?" He sounded mildly dejected.

  
  


_Really?_ "Were you not the one who walked in on topless me, about ten minutes ago?" A sudden flash of embarrassment mixed with anger rose through me bringing my head with it, and I was fully ready and willing to slap the shit out of him for looking at me inappropriately. Instead my gaze rose and was met with his own intense stare, coupled with a ghost of a frown.

  
  


   "I didn't burst in to see anything on purpose, I heard a noise and was done with making the food anyway, so I assumed you were done." The corners of his mouth twitched down even further. "I checked my phone while Abby and I were waiting for you to get dressed, and I had missed her text to let her in. I wasn't expecting her to go that way either."

  
  


   I huffed blowing my slightly damp fringe out of my face. "Really?"

  
  


   "Yeah, no, I told her to fall through the escape hatch, so I could catch a glimpse of some boobage," sarcasm dripped from every word he spoke, but that only fueled my anger.

  
  


   "I barely know you, dude, how am I supposed to know?" I took a step back, squishing the duffel against the gate. It was either that or lay hands on him to get him to move, and even I wasn't that bold.

  
  


   "Maybe drop the city-bitch attitude, and believe the best in people, for a change?"

  
  


    _Wow._

  
  


   "You know what, you should go." I turned my back on him, fiddled with the latch once more, hot tears welling up in my eyes, after the truth in his harsh words hit me. He was right, as embarrassing as the situation was for me, he did the right thing by trying to end the scene as quickly as possible. That and he had no reason to lie about Abigail, she seemed like she had a thing for him, and I couldn't see any girl helping a guy they like look at some strange woman's breasts. If I had just stayed and dealt with a few moments of embarrassment, I might be happily eating sandwiches and making friends instead of crying in the woods after a near stranger knocked me off my high horse.

  
  


   "...I probably should," there was a pause and then the flick of a lighter. "Don't want to be accused of breaking and entering as well."

  
  


   "I wouldn't...." I stopped after the tell-tale crying-voice tremble made its way into my words. I cleared my throat, hoping he hadn't caught on and tried again:  "look, I'm just tired. I'm not usually a city-bitch as you put it...it was just really embarrassing, and I didn't know how to react, okay?"

  
  


   Another pause, an exhale, and the smell of clove wove its way between us and made its way to my nose. It was the smell that the clubs in ZsuZsu City had, where I used to find men not too much unlike him. They too were confident, well spoken and had a penchant for the dark, but they were also, for the most part, jerks who would have looked. You could hear the lies rolling off of their forked tongues, and the empty promises of a romantic venture that was sure to last more than an evening.

  
  


   It was slightly confusing for me to smell the smell I had come to align with lies to be paired with truth, but thinking back to his harsher words--was I not here for change? Not only outward change with the people and the scenery, but inward change as well? How was this supposed to work if I expected the best from everyone but myself?

  
  


   "Do over?" Came his quiet question.

  
  


_Huh?_ I turned my head and saw him standing there, cigarette cherry slightly illuminating what the moon couldn't reach. His eyebrows were raised slightly, and his eyes held a glint of hope. He looked so damn... _Nope_. I surreptitiously dug my nails into my palm to give my mind something else to think about.

  
  


"Do, what now?"  _ Is he a mind reader? _

  
  


   "Do over," he took a long drag, "tonight didn't happen. We start fresh tomorrow...or whenever we run into each other again."

  
  


   "Works for me," I grinned. "I'd rather not be seen as the incompetent new farmer girl anyway."

  
  


   "I'd rather not be remembered as the 'he almost saw my boobs guy', so I guess we're even." He let out a short laugh. "Seriously though. I won't bring this up again."

  
  


   "Same here." My jaw reflexively opened wide as the longest yawn I had ever had escaped my throat.

  
  


   "Go get some sleep," he took a couple steps back and turned to head back up the stairs.

  
  


   "Night, Sebastian," I called out softly, turning myself back to the gate. I pressed against the splintered wood and it swung open noiselessly into the darkened plant covered archway that made up the entrance to my farm. I breezed through, kicking the gate shut with my boot and headed off to my little cabin, using the light of the moon to guide be between rocks, tree limbs, and weeds I hadn't gotten around to clearing yet.

  
  


When I was safely indoors, I  dropped my bag to the floor.  _ Today needs to be done _ . I stripped off my clothes in the dark, leaving them in a pile with yesterday's set at the foot of my bed, and crawled onto the old concave mattress underneath the sheets.

  
  


_ Well today wasn't a total shit pile _ , I thought as my eyes closed on their own accord. I rolled to face the wall and scrunched my knees up so that I was in the fetal position and sighed. Sure I couldn't take care of my own basic needs, but I met a guy, kind of. Well I did meet a guy, but not in that way.

  
  


   Abigail popped into my mind and I frowned. No way I was going to compete with that. Not only did she have youth over me, but she wasn't jaded like I was, and most importantly, no way I was going to start off my time in Pelican Town by breaking some teenager's heart by stealing her crush. Especially when I was here to work, and not play to begin with.

  
  


   Plus, he's Robin's son--and I still didn't like the idea of being romantically involved with the son of someone I would be potentially contracting for work, even if I had her blessing.

  
  


   Still, he was cute.

  
  


    _Fuck._

 

 


	6. Rainy Day

* * *

 

 

I woke up at six-thirty on the dot with nothing in my mind but checking to make sure I hadn't fucked up the spacing with my plants and to get water on them quickly. However, as I rolled away from the dusty wall my bed was pressed up against, I noticed that the window was dark still, and there were tell-tale lines of rain running down the warped pane.

  
  


   Usually, I didn't like the rain. In the city it was nothing more than a nuisance. No one knew how to drive in the rain. It just made everyone stupid. Here, though, I thought of rain as a blessing. Less time spent bent over making sure each individual plant got watered. More time for me to clear the rest of the property that so desperately needed to be tended to.

  
  


   I sprung out of bed, nearly rolling my ankle on a discarded boot and opened the door to look out onto the small plot of land I had cleared the day before. The tilled soil, and small mounds where the seeds were stowed were dark from the steady drops of moisture that fell from the sky. It wasn't raining hard, but it was enough that I didn't have to worry about watering for the day.

  
  


_Fuck yeah_ , I grinned and was about to step back and close the door when I noticed the flag of my mailbox was flying high above the dented metal frame. _I have mail?_ My hopes soared thinking my mom may have snuck me some gold from behind dad's back, causing me to run in my bra and panties to the mailbox and pull out a small thin envelope.

  
  


   The address was something I hadn't yet encountered, so definitely not from my mom. Hopes dashed, I trudged back toward my front door and the itchy doormat so I could clean my feet. Along the way I slowly separated the flap from the rest of the envelope so I would have the letter out and ready to read by the time I got back inside. Now in somewhat of a sour mood, I glared at the basketball sized stones and tree branches that lay in the wet dirt not more than twenty feet from my front door. I was not looking forward to dealing with those at all.

  
  


   I took the stairs quickly and wiped my feet on the old doormat, managing to get off most if not all the dirt. There was still some residual dirt around the sides of my feet that would have to be washed off, but at least it wouldn't mess up the work Mayor Lewis did on my floor.

  
  


   The front door squealed quietly as I closed it with a foot, as both of my hands were occupied with pulling the yellowed paper from the whiter envelope. I unfolded it slowly, only mildly curious at this point since the jingle of gold pieces were absent, and took a look at the message inside:

  
  
  


_ Ms. Summerfield, _

  
  


_ It's been a long time since we've had one of your kind in Pelican Town. Not since your Grandpa tended the very lands you're standing in. A long time ago after a long day of work, your Grandpa and I used to sit on my dock and fish into the late hours of the evening. Some of my favorite memories include that man. _

  
  


_ I want to see you succeed, and I want to share something with you that your Grandfather loved. I just saved up enough money to buy myself a new fishing rod and I want to give you my old one so that you can experience the same tranquility your Grandfather loved so much. _

  
  


_ Come down to the beach before 5:00pm today and we'll get you set up. _

  
  


_ Willy _

  
  
  


_ Wow _ . I read the letter once more and then folded it back up carefully and left it on top of my old TV. I don't remember ever going fishing with PopPop while I was here, probably because fishing is a lot of sitting still and back then the only time I wasn't moving is when I was sleeping.

  
  


   It wouldn't be bad to add another skill to the mix, especially since farming itself was a lot of waiting, it would give me something to do when I wasn't watering or planting. Or clearing the fields, I sighed heavily.

  
  


   Since the rain had cut out a lot of my chores for the day, it wouldn't be too much of a hassle to head down to the beach and meet Willy. Hell, maybe he had some insight on PopPop that would be new and interesting.

  
  


I reached to the small dresser behind the headboard of my bed and grabbed a pair of dark wash bermuda shorts and a gray v-neck shirt, and my black zip-up hoodie and began to change. The soft material felt nice in the cool air of the cabin. I hadn't lit the fire because it was Spring and it didn't seem necessary, so it was a bit chilly with a slight hint of moisture in the air due to the rain, and vaguely resembled the feeling of the air back in my basement room in the city. _I can get used to this_ , I grinned as I pulled my v-neck over my head and settled the jersey cotton over my body.

  
  


   After putting on my shorts and making sure the frayed ends were in place just above the knee, I scrubbed the remnants of the dirt of my feet with a washcloth and stepped into my boots. Once they were laced, I grabbed my jacket and headed out the door, only pausing momentarily on the stoop to slide my arms into the soft cotton, and zip it up to my bellybutton.

  I squinted my eyes and scanned for the southern exit to my farm where Cindersap Forest was. I knew from the map at Pierre's Store that you could get to town, and then the beach from Cindersap Forest. It might be quicker to go out the Eastern way, and skip the forest all together, but there was likely to be forage and spring onion down there, and I needed to make sure to keep my energy up until my parsnip harvest came in.

  
  


_ Bag _ . My eyes widened in surprise. I almost left without any tools or my bag. I headed back in, and dumped the thick canvas duffel out onto my bed, and out rolled a towel, my swimsuit and a few more pairs of underwear that hadn't been unpacked previously. I grabbed the empty bag and headed back out to grab my pickaxe, my axe, and my scythe. I didn't think I'd be needing my hoe or my watering can, so I left them next to the door and headed out, scythe in hand and went to go find the Southern path to Cindersap Forest.

  
  


_ Holy shit I have so much to do _ , I frowned as I walked to the opposite end of my property. There were weeds the size of chihuahuas and branches the size of my torso littered about the ground. I used my scythe to cut my way through the tall patches of grass and weeds, avoiding the rocks and branches wherever I could.

  
  


   It took me about an hour to clear a path to the small cobblestone bridge that lead to the forest, but I knew for a fact I would be able to find my way home in the darkness without stumbling around like an idiot, if I chose to return that way later into the evening. The bridge was worn, and had some rocks missing from the mortar, but it wasn't anything Robin couldn't fix in a day, and it seemed pretty solid as I crossed so I wasn't too worried about getting it fixed anytime soon.

  
  


   I continued heading South through the densely lined path of trees for a few minutes before I saw a break in the treeline. The path beneath me was worn dirt, but just ten feet ahead I could see the dirt turning to patches of thick green grass. What little sun peeked through the rain clouds showed off the drops of water on the grass blades, making the floor of the forest clearing sparkle with little rainbows. I almost didn't want to enter and ruin the serene feeling, but the idea of free food growing somewhere along the forest floor dashed that idea immediately.

  
  


   The show said something about the Southern island in the forest so I figured the best way to go about things was to keep straight until I hit water and find a way across. As I made my way through the clearing around some larger bushes I heard the telltale creak of door hinges and the soft 'pat' of shoes on earth. I stopped and looked to my left to see a large wooden house with red trim, attached to an even larger barn of the same construction. There was a fenced off area in the front, probably for animals to graze, which was empty due to the drizzle, and on the stoop, locking up the front door was a man.

  
  


He looked to be about my age from what I could see of his face. It showed some wear, kind of like pam's but his was represented by a thick five o'clock shadow and a frown that could be seen a mile away. His purple hued hair was cut shorter and parted off to one side, and from the gleam it gave, hadn't been washed in a while. His green striped polo was taught over a budding beer belly.  _ Wow, life hasn't been kind to this guy. _

  
  


   I was about to walk over to go say 'hi' when he turned my direction, and immediately a scowl graced his face. I paused mid-step, and brought up a hand to wave, but he just shook his head and walked off in the direction of town. From this angle as he left I could see a Joja blue windbreaker in his other arm, and immediately instead of being mad for being blown off, I felt bad for the guy.

  
  


   It was a bit of a shock when I was walking around town yesterday to see the shine and chrome of a Joja mart near the far end of town. I had been hoping to get away from Joja, and from the way the Pierre pitched his wares--urgent, almost pleading, it seemed like Joja was a blight to his business. I felt bad for the man, and promised him then and there that I would only shop from his store. But this guy, whomever he was, couldn't get away. It seemed like unless you worked for the town, or did your own thing, that you had to work for Joja otherwise you wouldn't have an income.

  
  


   I didn't know what that guy's situation was, but either way--Joja was soul-sucking, and I decided to not take his negativity personally. Everyone needs that kind of break every once and awhile. I had gotten mine last night when Sebastian had offered to have a 'do over'.

  
  


   My lips parted showing off my teeth in a bright smile as I headed off toward the Southern island. That was the luckiest break I had caught since arriving here in Pelican Town. Well, maybe just running into him before I passed out was my luckiest break, but this had to be a close second.

  
  


   I had fallen asleep thinking about Sebastian...mostly from the neck down but still. There was a part of me before I came here that had wished for a good-looking small town guy I could snuggle up to, but I didn't think there would be one that seemed near perfect for me. I say near perfect because well, his mother might be contracted to work for me, and it just seemed inappropriate, and then there was Abigail.

  
  


_ Dammit _ , I kicked at a smaller rock and watched it skip ahead of me through the grass. She obviously had feelings for Sebastian, her reaction when she fell into his room last night left little room to think otherwise. Plus she was beautiful, effervescent and had a wicked head start on me. Most importantly, I didn't want to be the cause of any drama, especially in a small town...and not over a guy when the other woman is the daughter of the man who sells me my seeds.

  
  


   Most of my smile had faded a while ago, but the last of it left me along with a deep sigh. The best thing I could do was to either find someone else to cuddle up with and leave it be, or just decide to go celibate while I was here. My shoulders shook as a cringe rolled through me. Okay, maybe I could find a makeout buddy. That would be acceptable.

  
  


   The rain was getting a tad heavier, and my shoulders were beginning to get damp. The land in front of me about ten feet ahead dropped away into crystal clear water, where I could see the vague shapes of fishes swimming lazily beneath the surface.

  
  


To my left was a small house, dark wood with a green roof that couldn't have been more than five paces to the riverbank. The stream beyond the house went into some very thick trees, so there was no way to follow the river that way. The river wasn't too wide, and the "island" on the other side was clearly visible. I headed to my right and after a minute or two saw thick planks of wood lying across from one bit of land to the other. The boards were thick, and when I tested it, they barely moved, but there were signs of sun rot that made me pause before tenderly making my way across to a little outcropping of land in the middle of the river. As I was crossing I saw a smaller plank from the other side of the small island to the bigger parcel of land.

  
  


A few moments later and I was across the smaller bridge and headed toward a small crop of green rising from the dirt. _Wow they weren't lying when they said spring onions liked to grow here--these are huge!_ As soon as I got to the closest plant I knelt, and pulled. The wet ground made it easy to pull the vegetable up, and I was met with an onion that had to be at least five inches long with a bulb at the end the size of my fist. _What is in the water here_ , I marveled and continued to pull onions out of the ground.

  
  


   All in all there was fifteen of them, which wasn't bad for a forageable find. I brushed off as much dirt as I could and filled the bottom of my bag and headed back the way I came, so I could get headed to the beach to meet Willy.  The way out of the forest didn't seem to take as long as heading down. Maybe its because I knew where I was going, or maybe it was because I was in better spirits after my find, but before I knew it I was passing the ranch at the edge of the forest and nearing the paved pathways of Pelican Town.

  
  


   As soon as I hit cobblestone I began to move a bit quicker, I passed 1 and 2 Willow Lane respectively and headed around the sewer and a tiny graveyard. North of me, the Stardrop Saloon and the delicious smells it created mocked me from a distance. I was determined to try the food there as soon as I could, but money would have to be made, first.

  
  


   Veering right I saw a small cobblestone bridge similar to the one at the Southern end of my property, and I could vaguely hear the sounds of gulls and waves lapping at the shore from the break in the trees. As I crossed the bumpy stone, I noticed more and more loose sand as I neared the steep incline to the beach. I continued up the little hill, keeping my eyes to the floor as to not slip on the light layer of sand that covered the packed dirt that made up the path.

  
  


   I was glad I watched where my feet were at, because it made the sight of the beach all the more breathtaking when I got to the top. The sand  of the beach was nearly white, which made a slow gradient into a brilliant blue the further you got out to sea. There was an old dock, with two piers made out of old dark wood, made even darker by being wet from the storm, and an old sea shack out towards the end of the first pier, and a man in a red longsleeve shirt out at the far end of the pier by the shack, fishing rod in hand.

  
  


As I headed down the incline, my boots began to crunch into wet sand, and I began to notice large shells littering the beach at random intervals all across the shoreline. Off to my left, once I got past the treeline that separated the town from the beach, I could see tidal pools with bits of bright pink coral strewn about there as well. _I wonder if Mayor Lewis takes beach forage?_

  My boots clunked on the old wooden planks, and the gulls that stood between myself and the man that I assumed was Willy, 'cawed' and took off just as a large gust of briney wind made its way from the West. I shivered and hunched my shoulders against the relative cold and continued my way out onto the pier. The shack had a sign that simply read 'Willy's' and the outside of it was strewn with crab pots, old crates, and long spools of rope, and from the wear of the building and some of the crates, Willy's had been open for a while. Made sense from what the letter read, he probably had his store back when PopPop lived here. I smiled at the thought of PopPop out here seated on the edge of the pier, quietly watching the ocean and waiting for a bite. I could do that.

  
  


   Rounding the corner of the building I was met with the back of a rust red thermal shirt, suspenders, and faded brown pants that were tucked into wading boots. The back of the man's head showed shaggy unkempt hair, and what looked to be an old battered cabby hat. The man was looking off at the sea, his hand occasionally raising a cigar to his lips.

  
  


   "Excuse me, are you Willy?" I self consciously tucked a few strands of hunter green hair behind my ear as I continued my approach.

  
  


   "Aye," the man responded, his voice was a grizzled as he looked. When he turned, the front of him matched with a bushy brown beard  under bright baby blue eyes. His eyes seemed to sparkle as he regarded me, and for a moment he reminded me of a brown haired version of my PopPop. I shot him back a small smile and stopped a comfortable distance away, not wanting to crowd him, but wanting to be close enough to hear over the lapping of the waves. "Caitlyn, is it?"

  
  


   "Yes, sir," I nodded.

  
  


   "Hmmm...." he took another puff of his cigar. "Grant always told me he loved yer long blonde hair. Showed me pictures of ye when you were a child...what happened?" He chuckled and waved his hands as if he was pushing the comment away from the two of us. "Just kiddin'. Yer a beautiful lass. Wish he could see ya, now."

  
  


   My cheeks heated and my head bowed reflexively to hide the color that I was sure stowed away with the heat. "Uhhh, thanks."

  
  


   "Now, on ta business!" He clapped his hands together without so much as jostling his cigar, spun on his heel and headed for a silver and red fishing pole that was leaning up against one of the pillars of the pier. He grabbed the pole, turned on his heel again, in a fashion that reminded me of Willy Wonka in the old Charlie and the Chocolate Factory movie and presented the pole to me like it was the goddamned holy grail. "This, is yer new best friend. Treat 'er well, her name's Wilma--feel free to call 'er what ya like."

  
  


"Wilma's a good name," I offered and reached out for the pole, he rolled the rod into my hands gently, and withdrew back to our comfortable distance.

   "Not many young folk here know the healin' that a good day o' fishin' can give ya. Too busy with their phones, an' their antics. Too busy to stop an' smell the halibut." Willy's eyes narrowed for a moment. "Yer Grandfather understood. The best a' times happen when yer waitin' on a bite."

  
  


   I nodded as I listened. I wasn't quite sure yet if fishing was for me, but I was willing to give it a try. No sense of bringing my uncertainty into the situation while this man was sharing his feelings on his passion with me.

  
  


   "Just come see me if ya catch anythin', I'll buy what ya got. If it smells, it sells," he laughed and reached down to his left for a shiny silver and purple rod, and began to bait the hook.

  
  


   "Will do, Willy. Thanks for this," I gestured at him with Wilma and headed back off down the pier towards the beach. It didn't seem like he was in the buying business today, so I would collect what I could from the beach, and spend the rest of the day foraging and fishing and just put it in the shipping box for tomorrow.

  
  


   I gathered the forage on the beach and headed back into town. It had occurred to me that while I was picking up the shells, cockles, and muscles that perhaps Pierre would take them, and I could get a hot lunch at the saloon. The idea of food not pulled directly from the ground piqued my interest along with my speed. So much so that I didn't think twice about cutting through Mayor Lewis' yard on my way up to Pierre's.

  
  


   I hadn't even gotten halfway through the yard when I heard arguing from ahead of me. I slowed my pace to a crawl and did my best to pick out voices. Male, and female--that much was apparent. The female's voice had a resonance to it that carried over the patter of the rain and over the fence:

  
  


   "You're never making it out of here, Alex! Why can't you just commit?"

  
  


_ Eeepsh _ . My face scrunched as her words hit me full force. So many relationship faux pas were just committed in those two sentences that it hurt me.

  
  


   "You don't know that! You can't know that!" The male shot back, obviously wounded by the female's words from the tone in his own voice. "I'm going to go pro--I know I am. I don't want to leave anything behind--"

  
  


   "So you're ending us now? So you don't have to end us later? How stupid are you?"

  
  


   "Don't call me stupid!"

  
  


   "Well if the shoe fits!"

  
  


   I heard a crack, a stifled scream and the sound of something hitting the ground. I sprang forward, through the gap in the fence toward the commotion. I didn't know what had happened, but I hoped to god I wasn't walking in on a case of domestic violence.

  
  


   I stumbled through the fence line and when I righted myself, I was met with two sets of narrowed eyes. One set was streaked with rain and mascara, and belonged to a petite blonde girl wearing a houndstooth long coat and a scowl. The other set was attached to a guy that had to be at least six-foot-two and was jacked to high hell. Even under his green and white letterman's jacket, it seemed as if his muscles had muscles. His brown hair was slightly shaggy, and was matted to his head from the rain.

  It didn't seem as if the girl had been hit so I began scanning the area for what had, and came across a missing piece of fence next to the man. I sighed quietly in relief and realized that the girl was saying something to me.

  
  


   "Excuse me? Sorry--"

  
  


   "--ou deaf or something? Go away!"

  
  


   "Haley--" the man started.

  
  


   Oh so this is Haley, I frowned as I watched the girl size me up. She wasn't even hiding it, she was literally looking me up and down to see what I had to work with. The nerve of this girl was unparalleled. She just reeked of the type of girl who got what she wanted when she wanted, and probably had no idea what the word 'no' meant.

  
  


    _Let's try an experiment._

  
  


   "No."

  
  


   "Excuse me," she balked, balling up her small hands into fists. "I said go away!"

  
  


"And I said... _ 'no' _ ." I watched her cheeks go from pink to red as she tried to figure out how to get me to go away. Telling me to wasn't working, and well she didn't know me, so insulting me wouldn't work--I mean she could try, but it would be a sad attempt akin to a baby throwing a tantrum.

  
  


   "Alex," she whined, and turned to the man, gesturing to me wildly. "Make her leave!"

  
  


   Alex for his part, seemed amused by my little experiment, and looked to be relishing the image of his female counterpart not having the upper hand. He looked between her and I for a moment and then stepped back putting up his hands in a gesture of passiveness. "Its a free country Haley...and anyway, our conversation is over. We're not together anymore."

  
  


   Haley's perfectly painted mouth stretched into a perfect circle as her plea for help not only fell on deaf ears, but was also promptly dumped. She looked at Alex for a while, as if gauging his seriousness. Alex folded his arms and turned to face the fence next to him, turning his back on her. Haley 'humphed', folded her own arms, and headed off around the Saloon without casting me a second glance.

  
  


   Alex and I stood there in silence for a few seconds regarding each other as we waited for Haley to put some distance between herself and us. The taller man, gridball under the crook of one arm gave me a small thankful smile, which I returned with a grin of my own, happy to help.

  
  


   Once I was sure we wouldn't have Haley wandering back into the conversation, I spoke:

  
  


   "Tough day?" I shrugged my bad back up higher on my shoulder, punctuating my question.

  
  


   Alex groaned and hung his head, "tough few months. Haley can be really cool, but she doesn't have the drive to make it out of Pelican Town, so she thinks no one else does either." He shifted the gridball in his arms and leaned against the fence next to him.

  
  


   "Gridball is a hard game," I frowned, "but if you have the passion for it, and you practice, there's no telling what you might be capable of. I dunno," I smiled up at him, "I think you'll make it. I'll even buy a ticket to your first major league game, how about that?"

  
  


   "You like gridball?" Alex's expression showed heavy suspicion.

  
  


   "My dad does, so I know a bit about the basics from him. I know enough to know when our team is doing well, and there's no 'gridball super fan' clause that would keep me from supporting a new friend who just achieved their dream."

  
  


   The brown haired man laughed and visibly relaxed a bit. "Thanks, so I take it you're the new farmer girl, right?"

  
  


   "Yup, fresh outta ZsuZsu."

  
  


   "Well farmer girl, wanna go get some lunch? My treat for saving my damsel ass?"

  
  


_ Free food? Fuck yeah _ . "Sure thing, princess."

  
  


Alex laughed loudly, and put out an arm, guiding me to the door of the saloon. "Come on, let's get out of the rain." I followed his lead and headed to the front door of the old brick building. I walked up the three small steps to the main landing and looked over my shoulder to see where Alex was at--and I locked eyes with him. Looking down I noticed he was standing on the cobblestone path.  _ Damn he's tall. _

  
  


   "How's the weather up here?" Alex smirked, and I realized that it must have looked like I was checking him out. My eyes snapped back to his and my cheeks flushed.

  
  


   "Still a bit damp," I averted my gaze and turned to get the door.

  
  


   "I'll bet it is," his voice was laced with innuendo and thick with intent, and despite the fact that under any normal situation, the entendre would have made my stomach crawl, for some reason the bats were back in full force. It was almost as bad as it had been with Sebastian the previous night.

  
  


    _Here we go again._

 

 


	7. With Benefits

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> He'll warm you up anyway, my brain offered, and I nearly shivered right on the spot. With the distraction of food gone, the tingling pooling in my center was back front and center, and I wasn't sure if I could just be okay with making out anymore--the way I was feeling now, stopping above the belt would be torture.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry life has been getting in the way. I'm slowly catching up on my stories. Finally got this one done at a hefty 7k word count. Christ. 
> 
> Hard SMUT inside.

* * *

 

The Saloon was warm thanks to the roaring fire to the right of the bar. It was a welcome change from the damp chill outside the door. The seats were mostly empty, the only patron in here before the evening rush being Pam who was sat at the end of the bar, contemplating life in the bubbles of her draft.

 

   Alex moved around me fluidly, picking a table closest to the fire. He grabbed the backrest of the chair nearest the flames and pulled the seat back and gestured to it, gridball in his other hand. "Here, take a seat," he smiled. His teeth were blinding white, and were perfectly shaped--almost like he stepped out of a Crest commercial.

 

   "Sure, thanks," I smiled back feeling a tad self conscious about my own set of teeth since I forgot to brush this morning. He didn't bat an eye, and moved around the table to take the seat across from mine. Wow this is rather date like, I my eyes widened a bit in surprise as I unshouldered my bag and set it against the table next to us, my tools clattering lightly against the wood.

 

   Turning back to the table, I noticed Alex's vibrant blue eyes on me, doing their best to study my form from underneath my baggy zip-up. Heat rose in my cheeks as I sat down across from him, and I watched his grin widen. He looked off towards the floor and let out a small 'heh', as he set down his gridball.

 

   "What?"

 

   "Nothing," he looked back over at me from underneath his strong dark eyebrows, "you're just cute when you blush."

 

    _Oh geez, he's forward._ The heat increased, as I mentally kicked myself for not being more in control of the situation. This was more like dealing with the men back in ZsuZsu, they were forward. They were dominating. And as much as I felt I was a self sufficient woman who didn't need a man--the forward nature of a city guy wrapped in the package of a country man was appealing, and was giving me that needy feeling deep in my belly.

 

   "So I'm not cute when I'm not blushing," I shot back hoping to catch him off guard.

 

   Alex straightened up chuckling lightly, "sorry, cuter. My bad." He put a hand over his heart to drive the intended sincerity home and gave me what could only be described as an award winning smile.

 

   "Nice save," I laughed and went to work unzipping my hoodie. The heat on my shoulder was making the damp cloth touching it itch. My shoulders rolled as I shrugged off the black cotton and set to work on the sleeves. "So, what position do you play?" I questioned as I set to work on removing the sleeves from my arms.

 

   "Midfield," he responded sounding a bit surprised.

 

   "What do you like most about it,"

 

   "More movement, more control over the ball, you're kind of the gatekeeper to your side of the field, and I think a good mid-field can save a game by blocking opponents shots, rather than scoring yourself." I nodded as he spoke, finally freeing myself of my itchy cotton jacket and rested my elbows on the table.

 

   "So you prefer to see a shutout, than a high score?"

 

   "Exactly," Alex leaned forward conspiratorially, "I brought my high school's team more shutout games than they've had in the last four seasons combined, while I was there."

 

   My hands came together in a few loud claps. That actually was impressive, even though it was a 'when I was in high school' story. He couldn't have been more than a year or two post high school, and given the season, it was strange he wasn't playing for one of the colleges in ZsuZsu. "So what are you doing now, Alex?"

 

   The smile on his face faded a bit, and he leaned back against his chair. "I'm practicing, mostly. Gran and Gramps didn't have enough money to send me to college, and I didn't get good enough grades for a scholarship. I'm hoping to hit open tryouts for the Tunnelers this Summer and make it that way." He nodded as if to assure himself of his plan.

 

   "That's cool," I shot him a small grin, "not everyone has to go to college. As long as you have a plan, you'll be fine--and you sound like you have that down..." I bit my lip and looked down at the table. "I think Hayley is wrong. I think you'll be fine."

 

   "Thanks," his response was quiet and sincere.

 

   "No problem," I looked back up at him, same assuring smile on my face, when I saw movement coming from the other side of the bar. Gus walked out, same mustard sweater gracing his round body. He caught my gaze and smiled from underneath his bushy mustache and headed over.

 

   "Sup, Gus," I reached out a hand to shake. As soon as he was near enough, Gus bypassed my hand and reached down to wrap an arm around my shoulder, squeezing me gently.   _Oh. Okay_. Though unexpected the hug was appreciated, and I used my outreached hand to move around his arm and pat his back.

 

   "Hey, kids," Gus released me and moved to fist bump Alex, which was returned with no hesitation.

 

   "Gus," Alex greeted, "we're doing lunch--whatcha got?"

 

   "Pizza, bread sticks...easy day today," Gus' cheeks rose with his smile.

 

   "You good with that," Alex looked to me for confirmation. I nodded, mouth already watering at the thought of any fresh made food. "Alright. One of each, and I'll have a water."

 

   "Same," I looked to Gus, making sure he heard my order. The older man gestured with the affirmative and headed off back to the kitchen, patting Pam on the shoulder as he passed.

 

   "So," Alex started bringing my attention back to my companion, "what about you--why Pelican Town? The Mayor called a meeting and said something about your Grandpa leaving you the farm...and no offense, but you don't seem like the farming type."

 

   "I'm really not," I agreed, "but I want to be...thing is, living in the city can be cool and all, but you have to be on that pace you know? I just wasn't on that same page anymore. It was too fast...to impersonal. I just wasn't happy there, and unlike others that I know who were in the same boat, I had a way out, thankfully."

 

   Alex took in my statement for a moment and then quirked a brow, "so you're here full time, now?"

 

   My shoulders rose and fell in a quick shrug, "for the year. If I don't pull a profit I promised my father I'd go back to my Joja job. He's super concerned with money, and didn't want me to blow all my savings on a failing farm....so I've got an allowance of five hundred gold every season from them, the rest I need to make on my own."

 

   "An allowance?" My companion laughed, slapping the old wooden table with one of his large hands. "How old are you?"

 

   "Fucking, twenty seven," I frowned, "but it was the only way out...and typing the same things every day five hundred times a day...just sucks your soul out."

 

   "Gotcha," he quieted down and relaxed in his chair, spreading his legs out on either side of the table. "So you like everyone so far?"

 

   "So far," I too relaxed a bit, and crossed my legs as to not to inadvertently play footsie with my new friend. "I've met a few people...not too sure if some of them like me, but eh."

 

   "What?" Alex cocked his head and smirked, "Who couldn't like you?"

 

   "Heh...your Grandma for one...think the tattoo got her. Haley, Abigail..." I trailed off.

 

   "Abby? Really? She usually loves everyone. What'd you do? Piss in her hair dye?"

 

   "Nope," I looked down at the knots in the wood on the tabletop, considering if I should tell the truth. I had promised Sebastian we wouldn't speak of it again, but I also didn't want to lie to one of the only people I'd had a real conversation with. "Can you keep a secret?"

 

   "Sure," he mimed zipping his mouth shut and flicked away an imaginary key.

 

   I relayed the story of what had happened from start to finish, only leaving out my mental commentary and bodily reactions to Sebastian. As soon as I got to the part where Sebastian walked in, Alex's eyes widened and his mouth opened a little bit, but he stayed quiet as I sped through the rest of the story. As soon as I told him I shut the gate, and Sebastian had left, he chuckled.

 

   "Damn, Girlie, no wonder you agreed to lunch with a perfect stranger--you must be starving. And here I thought it was my good looks,"

 

   Without even thinking: "It was mostly the food, yeah," I grinned. "But the scenery isn't bad, either."

 

_Did I really just say that?_

 

   "Sorry," spat out holding my hands up as if to push the very forward comment away from my person. "I shouldn't have said that. Sorry."

 

   Alex was about to answer when the saloon doors opened from the kitchen and Gus came back out with a tray of bread sticks, hot and doughy from the oven and two glasses of water. I dropped my hands into my lap, not wanting to welcome extra questions. Gus did his duty though, setting a glass of sparkling well water down in front of each of us and a basket of bread sticks in between us, and promptly left.

 

   We both watched him leave, me hoping he would stick around to keep the conversation in a lull, and Alex watching him like a hawk, expression showing impatience. As soon as Gus' back disappeared around the corner into the kitchen, Alex whirled in his seat to face me, small droplets of water flinging from his damp hair. One of his strong brows was quirked, and he wore a slight frown. "Why shouldn't you have said that?"

 

    _Shiiiiit._ I sighed heavily. "Let me count the ways...for one, I'm a lot older than you."

 

   "Maybe I like older women."

 

   "...Fine. You just ended a relationship  less than thirty minutes ago." I rolled my eyes skyward. _No way he was getting out of that one._

 

   He leaned back, relaxed again, head lolled to one side as he regarded me. "True, but maybe I'm not looking for a relationship."

 

   Oh okay. "Well what if I am?" My eyebrows pinched together in the middle as I frowned.

 

   "I don't think you are," Alex shrugged, "not with how busy you're going to have to be to turn a profit. Would you really have time for dates, and sleepovers, and meeting the family, and everything else actual dating entails? Not in my opinion."

 

    _Point taken_. My right hand slipped fluidly through my short bob as I pushed my hair back, something I usually did when I was flustered. He was right. If I wanted to stay here, and keep my ass out of ZsuZsu City, then dating wouldn't be in the cards--not until I had farm life down to a science and even then there was a chance that whomever I did end up dating would be severely neglected.

 

   However, thinking back to earlier--I wanted someone to spend my fleeting spare moments with. Even if it was just for a hot and dirty make out session in the woods, my libido was too high to be neglected for a year. Alex obviously had something in mind, and it would also solve the Sebastian dilemma to a certain point. Maybe blowing off some steam would allow me to think more clearly, and would get rid of the bats that roosted in my stomach whenever I pictured him.

 

Alex would be a decent substitute. He was athletic, took care of himself, was intelligent, and ambitious. No where near my usual style, but then again not all my conquests back in ZsuZsu were, either. More importantly--he seemed down to screw around, and from the way he was studying me while I thought all this through, I guess I was the rare novelty. Someone he hadn't grown up with or known for years. Someone who he could high five on his way out of Pelican Town when he made it to the big leagues.

 

   "What are you suggesting," I shifted in my seat as I re-crossed my left leg over my right. I folded my arms across my chest doing my best to look like I was waiting for a business offer--which I kind of was. Alex adjusted himself as well, pulling his legs back so he could lean forward, elbows on the table as he peered at me from behind tented hands.

 

   "What are you wanting?"

 

   "Just company. Whatever that leads to--no strings would be preferable. I might not be here in a year, and you have big plans of getting out of town. Either way one of us is leaving, so we need to keep this light."

 

"A 'with benefits' thing? No strings. I can handle that, I just want to be clear that you set the terms, now, and if uhh...stuff starts to develop, you let me know so we can figure out how to handle it. Deal?" Alex held out a large hand for me to shake. I reached my own cracked and sore hand out, but instead of being disgusted by how raw my hands were, he simply took it, and leaned down to kiss the back of it.

 

   Usually shit like that would bother me. It mostly comes off as 'trying too hard' and a little bit creepy if I'm being honest. I've had a couple guys back in the ZsuZsu bars slobber over the back of my hand trying to come off as chivalrous or charismatic, or some shit. This...boy, he just pulled it off. As soon as his lips--not overly moist made gentle contact with my knuckles, I felt a drop in my stomach, and suddenly I wasn't hungry for pizza.

 

   A slow smile spread across my face, and even though I was panda-eyed from yesterday's makeup, I actually felt sexy. That didn't happen, maybe on the rare occasion that I put a gargantuan amount of work into my appearance, outfit, hair, and a general slathering of makeup, but something about the way he was looking at me made me not worry that I had bed head, or that I was pretty sure if I looked in a mirror I'd see black smudges halfway down my cheeks.

 

   Without a word, Alex let go of my hand and went back to his relaxed position. "You bring your cell with you?"

 

   "Nope," I shook my head. It was sitting under my mail from this morning on top of my old box TV. "Its back at my place."

 

   "Well after pizza I'll walk you home, and we'll trade numbers." I grinned, excited at what other perks came along with being walked home. "We making this social media official?"

 

   I shrugged and reached down to my neglected drink, and brought it to my lips. "I don't do Facebook, so that's all you. I actually only really use Instagram to be perfectly honest."

 

   "You model?"

 

   I nearly choked on my drink trying not to laugh. "No--no...well, I try. I try and take...artistic shots. Mostly selfies. I can be rather vain."

 

   "Coulda fooled me.”

 

   "Shut up," my cheeks reddened a bit, "I had a long night."

 

   "Okay, okay," he reached out for one of the now probably cold bread sticks and took a bite. I did the same, not wanting to waste perfectly good food even though the hunger had migrated lower than my belly. We both ate in silence for a little bit, only interacting enough to shoot the other a knowing look every now and then. The only sound other than quiet chewing was the plastic click of Pam texting along the edge of the bar. At first I didn't think anything of it, and just busied myself in carbo loading, but after a while I began to feel eyes on me when I saw Alex's head bowed to his food.

 

   Glancing up quickly the next time I felt prying eyes, I caught gazes with Pam, who forced a wide smile and a small acknowledging wave before turning in her seat towards the kitchen door and continuing to text. "What's her deal?"

 

   "Pam?" Alex answered after swallowing a humongous bite of bread stick. "What's she doing?"

 

   "Texting...a lot. And looking at me," I frowned.

 

   My lunch date chuckled and shook his head slowly. "Drunk old bag....she's probably gossiping."

 

   "About?" I quirked my brow and leaned over, wishing I could see her old flip phone's screen from here.

 

   "Us, probably. Think about it, there's music playing to drown us out, but she can see what we're doing. I kissed your hand, we're giving each other looks...she might be drunk, but she's not stupid."

 

   "Great, I'm already the center of gossip, and I've been here two days." I sighed heavily and dropped the remainder of my bread stick on the table.

 

   "Change your mind about our arrangement?" Alex tilted his head, waiting patiently for my answer.

 

   "...No, I just wish my business wasn't out in the open, you know?" I ran both of my hands through my 

hair and cupped the back of my neck.  _ What would Sebastian think when he finds out? _ I wondered. Would he think I'm a whore? Would he even care? I shuddered, not wanting to go down that train of thought anymore. All it would do is ruin my day.

 

   "It's a small town, Girlie, can't avoid it. People would have caught onto something eventually. If it makes you feel any better, they'll probably think we're dating."

 

   "Probably," I agreed. I wasn't sure what I thought about that either, but I guess it was better than everyone and their mother knowing I was casually boning a dude fresh out of high school.

 

   "Pizza on the way," Gus called from over the kitchen's saloon doors and a minute later there was a fresh supreme pizza laid out on the circular table between us. As much as I was horny and not hungry, it did smell delicious, and I decided to let the subject lie and just eat my feelings on the situation.

 

   We each grabbed a slice, and settled in, speaking about friends we had, and fun memories. I relayed how interesting the club scene was in ZsuZsu and told him that if he didn't forget me when he was famous, he'd have to let me take him out for old times sake. In return, he regaled me with some of his greatest gridball plays, and the pranks he would pull for Devil's night that he swore made Mayor Lewis' mustache curl.

 

   An hour later, we were giggling over some stupid innuendo Alex had made over an empty pizza tray when the front door to the Saloon opened and in walked Abigail, and a blonde boy with spiky hair. I had instinctively turned to see who was walking in, and when we locked eyes, the disdain was palpable. I offered her a small placating smile, which she ignored and headed off behind me to the room with the pool table and arcade games. The boy behind her, however smiled apologetically, waved at me and Alex and headed off after the purple haired beauty.

 

   "Wow," Alex mumbled, "you weren't kidding."

 

   "Yeah, can we go? I feel like I'm not welcome anymore." I shifted in my seat and side-eyed my bag, ready to grab it as soon as he gave the affirmative.

 

   "Sure, I just gotta go pay," he stood and headed off to meet Gus at the cash register while I pivoted on the smooth wooden seat and grabbed for my bag. _Is this lighter?_ No. Must be because I ate. It wasn't too noticeable, but I didn't feel like a slight breeze would tip me and my tools over anymore. I grabbed my zip-up from off the back of the chair and shoved it into the bag. If it was still raining like it had been before, I wouldn't get too soaked before we got back to the farm.

 

    _He'll warm you up anyway_ , my brain offered, and I nearly shivered right on the spot. With the distraction of food gone, the tingling pooling in my center was back front and center, and I wasn't sure if I could just be okay with making out anymore--the way I was feeling now, stopping above the belt would be torture.

 

   I shouldered my bag, and looked off into the pool room. Abigail's back was to me, and from the way she was pointing, she was trying to talk the blonde haired boy through how to line up his shot. I heard a board groan from behind me and turned my head to see Alex's broad chest come into view.

 

   "Ready to go?"

 

   "Y-yeah," My response came out a bit breathier than I had wanted within earshot of Abigail.

 

   Once more, Alex moved around me and got the door, opening the portal to the dreary outside. I stepped out and the rain had sped up a bit. I was going to be soaked by the time we got to the farm, I guess that was just one more reason to take my clothes off. I chuckled.

 

   "What?"

 

   "Oh nothing...I'm just going to have to change when we get to my place--I'm going to be soaked," I winked at him and headed off down the cobblestone path toward my property. A few moments later I heard the squeak of new shoes on wet stone.

 

   "Oh, so I shouldn't offer you my jacket?"

 

   "Nah--looks better on you," I called out over my shoulder.

 

   Alex caught up quickly, stepping up to my right side, and threw a heavy arm around my shoulders between my bag and my neck. "There, how's that?"

 

   "Works for me," I kept my hands squarely on the straps for my bag, not sure how much was too much when it came to public affection in Pelican Town. If we had been in the city, my closest hand would have been squarely around his waist, but I didn't want to go too far and offend anyone.

 

   That's how we walked the entire way back to my farm. My hands fidgeting with desire on the straps of my duffel bag, and his left arm around my shoulders. We unspokenly moved at a quickened pace, ready to get to the much anticipated 'after' part of the lunch date. We spoke quietly on the way there, no innuendo, just two new friends getting to know each other. The undercurrent, however was unbearable. The tiny circles his thumb drew on my upper arm as I spoke more about my family back in ZsuZsu, the occasional nudge I would give him with my hips as he made a stupid joke. Every bump, every touch was alight with tension.

 

When I saw the telltale hard wood fence poking through the trees up ahead, I reached and pointed out the entrance to Alex. "Here we are," I felt proud as we neared my plot of land, mostly because it was mine, but a little bit because I could take a guy back to my own house--even if it was just a one room shack.

 

   Passing through the gate, we separated, him walking further into the property to look around. I however, stopped to latch the gate. It didn't have a lock, but it was as good as I was going to get.

 

   "Wow," he remarked from just beyond the little patch of land I had cleared out. "You have a lot of work to do."

 

   "Yeah," I frowned as I walked over to where he stood. "It's going to take weeks to clear this out."

 

   "Hmmm..."

 

   "What?"

 

   Alex's only answer came in the form of swift movement. He was looking off into the fields one moment, and the next, his arms were respectively around my shoulders and under my knees as he lifted me off the ground and into his arms. I let out a little scream of surprise--but we were so far out of town I didn't have to worry about anyone hearing me. The brown haired man, chuckled and headed toward the small porch of my cottage.

 

   "Smooth move," I commented, my right hand rubbing absentmindedly over the short buzzed hair on the back of his head.

 

   "What? I have to get my time in when I can--you said it yourself this field will take weeks." He switched his grip on me briefly to get the door handle, and the old hinges opened easily, showing off my messy one room home.

 

   "I can take breaks...maybe," I  smirked while he stepped in, and used my hand that wasn't playing with his short hair to close the door behind us. As soon as the door closed he turned his attention to me with an intensity that made the way he was looking at me in the Saloon seem pale in comparison.

 

   "Maybe?" His voice was barely above a whisper.

 

   "Why are you so clothed?" I ignored his question. I just wanted him to throw me on my bed at this point. No foreplay was necessary after that look. Alex smirked and  leaned forward, letting go of his grip on the back of my legs, setting me down gently on the old oak floor of my cabin. I let go of him, albeit reluctantly and headed the few steps away to my TV, and grabbed my android out from under Willy's letter.

 

   "Number," I prompted as I unlocked my phone. He rattled off his ten digits, as I heard the sound of his heavy jacket hit the floor, followed by the sounds of shoes being discarded, and the groan of my mattress as he sat down.

 

"I feel under dressed," he remarked and I suddenly felt something poking my ass. I turned in time to see Alex, shirtless, leg extended poking me in the butt with his big toe.  I laughed and rolled my eyes turning back to face my phone, and locked it, setting it down on the top of the TV once more.

 

I kicked off my shoes, and reached for the hemline of my gray v-neck, and pulled up slowly, relishing the feeling of the cold damp material leaving my body. Once it was over my head, I balled it up quickly and threw it behind me.

 

"Oomph," I turned and saw Alex, face covered with my shirt, laughing silently. I quietly padded over to him, taking in his tanned well defined muscles along the way. Damn this guy works out a lot, I stole away a quiet smile for myself before my shirt was removed from his view, proud of what I believed to be quite the accomplishment.

 

I moved forward like a woman possessed, walking lightly on the balls of my feet so he couldn't hear me coming, and as soon as I was close enough to make contact, I placed a hand on his shoulder, and brought a leg up along his side, making my move to straddle him, putting my chest squarely in his view.

 

   As soon as my one leg was in place, Alex immediately caught on, blindly reaching out and finding the back of my thigh, lifting my other side into position on the other side of him. The sudden lift, and just the strength it would take to do so without so much as a grunt from him made my head feel fuzzy. Images of being pressed against walls, only held up by muscle and passion.

 

   I let out a slight groan just at the thought, and whipped the gray cotton off of his head to reveal my smirking counterpart. "Did I do something?"

 

   "No but you better start, If you want to come back." The words were no sooner out of my mouth when Alex did as he was told, and slid one of his wide palms up from my ass up to between my shoulder blades, and pinched at the elastic and lace which immediately gave way under his expert touch.

 

   Grabbing hold of the lacy straps, I reached skyward freeing my breasts from their somewhat itchy prison. As soon as skin was bared Alex went to work kissing and nibbling the sensitive skin, making patterns across my breasts with his lips, alternating between light use of teeth, and the soft touch of his lips. A low needy moan escaped me as my own hands wandered, not being able to find a home anywhere for long.

 

   The dull ache that had formed deep within me became a sharp pain as my lower half was neglected. I was getting every girl's dream of being catered to, and all I could think of was a quick hard fuck without the bells and whistles.

 

   "Alex," my words were barely a breathy whisper, "just fuck me--we can save the cute shit for later." To make my point, I gently grabbed a fist full of Alex's hair and pulled his face away from my chest. Alex forced a nod as he looked up at me with a mix of wonder and lust.

 

   Hands were moved, muscles flexed and suddenly I was lying down on my back, my hands being shrugged off my companion's shoulders and being moved to unbutton my shorts as Alex briefly removed himself from my grasp to take off his own pants. It wasn't happening quick enough for me, so I bypassed unbuttoning, and simply slid my thumbs between my underwear and hips and pushed down, taking both items of clothing off at once.

 

   Kicking the articles of clothing to the end of the bed, the movement of my legs moving back and forth unlocked a new level of need I couldn't believe existed. I needed a hand on me now. I looked over to see Alex watching me as he lazily unhooked his belt, enjoying the sight before him. All well and good for him, he wanted a show, I'd give him one.

 

   My fingernails danced their way across my flat stomach drawing arbitrary patterns giving rise to goosebumps all over my pale skin. I moved my hands in slow circles slowly making my way down the flat area between my slightly protruding hip bones and toward the small patch of manicured hair I left on my mound.

 

   My fingers splayed out from their curved positions, as they made their way through my pubic hair and down toward my slit, my middle finger riding the lines of my folds perfectly. I shivered, letting out a soft moan.

 

   "Oh shit," I heard Alex mutter at the same time as denim hit the floor.

 

   "Sorry to start without you," my breathy voice filled the small room easily. "I just, I need..." I slid my middle finger between my folds to enter myself, and I lost my train of thought. My back arched to move myself further down onto my digit. My eyes squeezed shut, but not before I saw Alex, with a gold metallic wrapper, moving towards his mouth.

 

   Good god, I bent my left leg and let it lean against the wall as I continued to stroke myself, finger sliding deftly in and out of my pussy, spreading the moisture that was rapidly growing there.

 

   Somewhere my higher functioning brain was glad he had brought protection. Last thing I needed was to get knocked up two days into my new life, but there was a downside to condoms--it just didn't feel the same. Still, in my heated state, I was preparing for the rubber, and was spreading my juices over and around my entrance to make him entering easier.

 

   "Should I go," Alex's amused voice came from my right, bringing me back to the present and the exquisite looking man before me. I simply reached out, and grabbed ahold of his sheathed cock and began to slowly massage the member, not wanting to leave him out.

 

   My partner gave a low groan of appreciation and began to leisurely thrust his hips in time with my movements, giving my small touches access to more of his dick. I was careful to keep the condom on as my hand moved towards the base of his shaft, not knowing if he had a backup.

 

   My fingers that had previously been at home within me were not enough as my other hand flexed around Alex's girth. Its as if my core knew there was something more filling nearby, and was begging to be stretched and full. I retracted my fingers and used the moisture there to make one last pass over my labia making sure it was good and slippery.

 

   "I need you," I gasped at my own gentle touches before looking up and locking gazes with Alex's deep blue eyes. "Please?"

 

   Alex nodded and at a snail's pace brought his leg up into the space between mine, gradually making his way to hover above me, never once breaking the eye contact I had initiated. I spread my legs further to accommodate him, my right foot planted on the outside of my bed, my left still against the wall.

 

   "Guide me in," his voice was sensual and gritty all in one go. My right hand, hurriedly made its way back to his member, and gently pulled until the head of his sheathed cock pressed against my slit. He grunted a bit as soon as we made contact, and rolled his hips forward a bit causing his dick to slide up my pussy and against my clit.

 

   "Fuck," my voice was shaky and small. I guided his tip lower to my entrance and this time when he rolled his hips forward I pushed up and he slid in easily aided by my juices. I quivered silently as he entered me languidly. The only sound in the room was his own small strings of swears and gasps.

 

   I tried to move my hips up more to drive him in further, the need to be full was overwhelming. A strong hand right above my hipbone kept me in place, however, putting me at the mercy of his achingly slow pace. "Alex," I did my best to sound chastising. This wasn't how this was supposed to go-I was supposed to be in charge.

 

   A small 'heh' from my partner and he quickened his entry some, his own small bush of pubic hair finally hitting my own. I finally had him deep within me and it sated my need to feel full. I moaned low in my throat, hands traveling  up and around his arms to his shoulders and dug my nails into the muscle there.

 

   "Shit, Cait," Alex hissed and flexed  his back muscles doing his best to deal with the pain and hung his head low, giving me the perfect view of the top of his head. His hair was still wet and piecey, and dripped excess rain water onto my chest.

 

    “ Then hurry up and fuck me,” I squirmed against him trying to spur some action. 

 

    “ As you wish,” he pushed himself off of his hands so he was kneeling, his dick sliding halfway out of me as he did so, and roughly grabbed my left leg from against the wall and hiked it up over his shoulder. His hands slid down my smooth leg from calf to mid thigh before stopping, and pulling me closer in, my bottom half now halfway off the bed. 

 

    “ I like it when you do as you’re told,” I reached out and danced my fingers down his abs playfully. 

 

    “ Just be careful what you wish for,” his warning was lost on deaf ears as that was when he thrust 

into me, heeding my request for a hard fuck, his hipbone pressing into the back of my leg. Without so much as giving me time to get used to the new pace he withdrew almost to the head and slammed into me again, setting the new rhythm for the encounter. 

 

    “ Christ,” I nearly screamed as Alex rammed into me, holding me in place by my raised leg, eyes closed off in his own world. He truly was a sight, all muscle, well groomed, and for the moment all mine. 

 

My breasts bounced on my chest as he continued at his speedy pace, nearly hitting me in the face with every thrust he made. My hands slid up my torso and cupped my chest to settle the bouncing and give my nipples some much needed attention. I pinched and kneaded between cries of want and need.

 

The rhythm was everything. We moved together so perfectly that I lost track of all time, and higher function as he slid in and out of me, perfectly matching my own smaller hip thrusts. I was a creature of desire, now, lost in the wet sound of our fucking and the growing pool of electricity in my core. Everything was about feeding that charge, one hand working my nipples, tweaking and pinching in kind, he other feelings its way down to my my clit to stroke and circle the small bud in hopes that soon, the electricity would discharge and send shock waves through my body. 

 

At some point the rhythm began to break down into haggard heaving thrusts. My leg that was over his shoulder was released. I reached out for him, to pull him closer to me, needing his touch in any way possible as the head of his cock hit my most sensitive of areas. 

 

Instead Alex used his muscle to pull me up onto his hips as he sat back on his heels. I sank down onto his dick in a way I hadn’t yet felt, the top part of his member sliding against my g-spot, and making the electric feeling crackle.

 

I wound my arms around his shoulders, and pulled myself closer to him, my breasts squishing up against his hard pectorals. His breath on my neck sent shivers down my spine, his lips finding a their place in the hollow of my neck pressing gently. 

 

The brief pause in movement was ended by his hands making their way to my ass and lifting, helping me get the leverage to start riding him, at my own pace. I opted to continue the quick pace now that his dick was in the prime position to hit my g-spot, I knew the release I was craving would come quickly. 

 

We worked together, hands roaming as we ground against each other, my breathing going hot and heavy into the crook of his neck, and his into mine. One of my hands found its way to his damp hair, fingers weaving into the short locks, pulling him closer still. 

 

The entire time I rode him there was that electricity building deep within me. It forced me to continue though my legs were tired and aching, and I so desperately wanted to lay back down and just let him take me. However I knew that if I did so, the electricity would fade, and my chance to come would take much longer...and I needed it. Now.

 

I angled my pelvis so that the tip of his cock hit instead of rubbed my g-spot. That was all I needed to break past that wall that was keeping me from my release. 

 

I came. Hard, and loud. I was intensely grateful for the expanse of property I lived on, as there was no holding back my moaning as Alex realized I had hit my peak, and took over, driving himself repeatedly into my g-spot prolonging my orgasam into one of the most intense experiences I’d ever had. My legs shook, and my arms, though desperately trying to keep hold of Alex’s shoulders were losing their strength, as my walls clamped repeatedly onto Alex’s member ushering low groans of appreciation from my partner. 

 

Then, as if on queue, Alex thrusted one final time, burying himself inside me to his base as he came, squeezing me to him as he did so. We stayed like that for a long few moments, me with a hand around his shoulders and the other in his hair, and him with a hand around my waist and the other splayed between my shoulder blades. Completely intertwined, and too sensitive to move.

 

Eventually, I felt Alex’s legs shift, and then the room spun as he flopped us unceremoniously onto our sides, our bodies still locked together. We bounced on my old mattress a few times before finally settling down. 

 

Tilting my head up I found Alex looking down at me, a small smirk on his face. “Yup. Totally into older women.”

 

    “ Good thing I decided you can come back,” I drawled and unlaced my right hand from his hair and stretched my arm back peeling my chest away from his. 

 

    “ I’m honored.” He chuckled and began to peel himself away from me as well, slipping out of me in the process. 

 

    “ Trash is over there, in the bathroom,” I untangled my legs from his and rolled onto my back, extending my arms over my head and stretching, my mouth opening into a large yawn. I was exhausted.

 

    “ Naptime,” he questioned as he carefully moved over me to get off the bed to throw the condom out. I patted his butt on his way past causing him to jump and shoot me a playful glare. 

 

    “ Hells yeah,” I swung my arms forward, using them as momentum to sit and grabbed for my underwear and shorts and began tugging them back on. I’d never liked sleeping naked, and I wasn’t about to start while still wet from sex. “You staying?”

 

    “ Nah, I wanted to get some practice in before it gets too dark,” I heard the sound of the trash bag rustling and then the creak of the floorboards as he returned. “Maybe next time, though,” he shot me a thousand watt smile, and began grabbing his clothes off the floor. 

 

    “ Sure,” I smiled back and swung my legs off the side of the bed after my shorts had been settled around my waist. I needed a shirt to put on so I could walk him out. I headed to my small dresser, grabbed a white t-shirt that I had brought specifically for the purpose of sleepwear, and pulled it over my head quickly. Once my arms were through, and the bottom hem was pulled down it looked as if I was wearing a dress by Hanes. 

 

    “ Sexy,” Alex remarked as he finished buckling his belt. I rolled my eyes at him a bit, and ran a hand through my hair, trying to see how tangled it had gotten. Thankfully the length wasn’t bad, but the shorter layers in the back were all skewed from the pillow. 

 

    “ See what you’re missing? Last chance,” I was kind of disappointed that he wasn’t staying, but I did understand how important gridball was to him, and if he wanted to practice so he could achieve his dream, then who was I to get upset over it. Still, wouldn’t hurt to ask again. 

 

Alex chuckled, unworn shirt in hand, and walked over to me, bent down and pressed his forehead to mine briefly. “Next time.”

 

    “ Fine,” I grinned at him and gently pushed on his chest forcing him to back up from me. “Get to it then.”

 

    “ Fine,” he grinned back and headed off to the door throwing up the peace sign at me from over his shoulder. “Text me later.”

 

    “ Will do,” I called out through a yawn. Alex closed the door behind him laughing. I watched him head off back to the Eastern entrance to my property shirt tossed casually over his shoulder. 

 

_ Not a bad catch _ , I shrugged and shimmied out of my shorts, leaving the dark denim in the middle of the floor while I crossed the small space to get back into bed. I pulled back the covers and crawled in, sleep overcoming me quickly. 

  
  
  


 


	8. D&D

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Well if you want you can come play some D&D with us," Sam offered with a slightly embarrassed grin. "I know not many girls like Dungeons and Dragons, but we'll have snacks, and we're always laughing so it'll be a good time." The boy fidgeted with his hands as he spoke, obviously nervous about the invitation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh lord. So this was a fun chapter to write. I love the cut scene in Stardew where you go through the campaign and I wanted to do something like that, so here it is!

* * *

 

"This is an dish. One of my favorites, Ms. Summerfield," Mayor Lewis' mustache wiggled a bit as he spoke. It was slightly distracting in the dim lighting of his porch light. "How did you know?"

  
  


"A little birdie told me," I did my best to give him my best secret-keeper smile. There was no way I was telling him I got it out of the trash at the Saloon.

  
  


I had gotten in the habit of checking trash cans late at night once I accidentally knocked over Alex's on my way out his window and found a pile of perfectly good cookies. I thought at first it was an anomaly but then I noticed Gus was out throwing out leftovers from the Saloon as well. They were all neatly packaged and safe from any grime, so I didn't feel too bad giving trash food to the Mayor. To be honest I just got lucky with the fact that he ended up liking what I took.

  
  


"Well thank you so much," He reached out with one arm and wrapped it around my shoulders in a fatherly gesture of gratitude. I patted his back gently, smiling now that my mission was accomplished.

  
  


After a few more minutes of small talk I was walking away from the Mayor's house and feeling a lot better about my day. My first haul of parsnips had come and gone, and netted me a bit of money--well enough to replace what I had and add a few more with enough to keep me in food for the next few days. I was still waiting on cauliflower, but they were growing well--so I wasn't too worried.

  
  


Heading up between the Saloon and Alex's house I debated pulling out my phone and texting him to see if he wanted to come over. I hadn't seen him since he left me to my nap a few days ago, and I had been feeling flirty today.

  
  


I walked around the back of the house, making special care not to hit the trash bins this time, so I didn't wake Evelyn or George. I got to the back right of the house and noticed that the light was out. _He's probably asleep_ , I frowned at missing out on a chance to see him. To be fair we had discussed a couple of weeks due to my farming duties.

  
  


My farm was growing steadily. I now had forty parsnips in the ground and twenty cauliflower. It still didn't look as pretty as I would want, with them just being in a tilled patch outside my front door, but I was getting a good amount of space cleared every day. I had chests full of rocks woods and weeds, and had even had time to make my very first scarecrow.

  
  


All in all I was rather proud of my new found farming prowess, and felt like I deserved a break for the evening. The only trouble with that was that the fine inhabitants of Pelican Town either went to bed early, or were hard to find.

  
  


I headed back to the cobblestone path next to Pierre's and was debating on whether or not to head to the Saloon, or to head home, when I saw a figure approaching in the darkness. The figure was a little bit taller than me, and lanky in appearance.

  
  


"Hey," the figure called out and quickened its pace toward me. "You're the new farmer, right?" As the figure neared it was illuminated by the light outside Pierre's to reveal the blonde boy from the Saloon the other day.

  
  


"Yeah, name's Caitlyn Summerfield," I greeted.

  
  


"Cool," he grinned, "I'm Sam Shrouf. Sorry about the other day, Abby was in a bad mood." He stuck out his hand for me to shake. I took it, with a small smile--happy that he didn't hate me as well.

  
  


"It's all good," I let go and shoved my hand deep into my shorts pocket. "I understand--you wanted to take care of your friend."

  
  


"Yeah," Sam seemed to wilt a bit at the word 'friend', but he quickly mustered and went back to smiling. "So what're you up to, tonight?"

  
  


"Probably headed home," I frowned. "There's not much to do here at night unless you're drinking in the Saloon."

  
  


"Well if you want you can come play some D&D with us," Sam offered with a slightly embarrassed grin. "I know not many girls like Dungeons and Dragons, but we'll have snacks, and we're always laughing so it'll be a good time." The boy fidgeted with his hands as he spoke, obviously nervous about the invitation.

  
  


_That actually does sound fun,_ I marveled. Plus, free food. _Plus Sebastian,_ my brain interjected.

  
  


"Sure," my answer was on the verge of being too eager. The invitation had already been extended by Sebastian himself when we had first met, so I didn't feel bad for crashing a game since the host was asking for new players.

  
  


"Really," Sam's voice brimmed with surprise.

  
  


"Hell yeah. I used to play D&D back in ZsuZsu, it's a lot of fun." I nodded in the direction of Sebastian's place to start the bit of a walk we had ahead of us.

  
  


"Really what do you play?" Sam's shoes squeaked as he moved quickly to start our walk up the path.

  
  


"Usually more diplomatic characters, if the build I have in mind is allowed I shouldn't hold up game too much," I grinned. I loved playing women who surprise with their strength and adeptness in battle.

  
  


"Oh really?" The excitement in Sam's voice was palpable, "we don't have a diplomat yet. That'd really round out the group."

  
  


"Sweet," I nodded as we headed up the incline to the park by the Community Center. "I just hope Abby is okay with my joining. I'm not sure she likes me very much."

  
  


"She just doesn't adjust well to new girls," Sam shrugged. "She's so used to being the only one in our friend group. She's like that at school, too."

  
  


"Ahhh, I get that," I felt a little bit better about being around Abigail now. I just had to show her that I wasn't trying to push her out, and all should be fine.

  
  


As we made our way to Sebastian's we filled the silence with more talk of the game. Mainly who was already playing what, and what skills my character should take to round out the party.

  
  


Sam played a Dwarf Rogue, Sebastian was a Half-Elf Cleric, and Abigail played a Halfling Fighter. I myself was set on a Human Velvet Blade which was an arch type of the Slayer class. The entire point of my character would be to use her words to get close to the target before stabbing them in the back.

  
  


My walking companion was just going on about possible character ties to bring me in when we hit Sebastian's front yard.

  
  


"Hey, Caitlyn," a surprisingly deep voice called out. I looked up to see Sebastian smoking near the escape hatch from the basement. "Hey, Sam."

  
  


"Sebastian," Sam called out pointing over to me, goofy grin on his face. "Look who I found on the way here. I invited her to play, hope that's cool."

  
  


"Yeah, no, that's fine," Sebastian looked between Sam and I for a moment before field stripping his cigarette and shoving the butt back in his pack. "I had actually invited her a few days ago, but it looks like you had better luck than I did."

  
  


My cheeks went slightly pink at the reminder of that conversation and what happened directly after. "Hey, he just caught me at a good time. Things are going better than I thought with the farm, so I ended up having free time."

  
  


"Just giving you shit," Sebastian chuckled. "Anyway, it'll be nice to have someone to share my beer with for once. It's not as much fun drinking alone."

  
  


"Told you, you don't have to drink alone," Sam sounded a little too eager.

  
  


"How old are you?" I gave him a sideways glance to which he immediately lowered his eyes to the deep brown earth below his feet.

  
  


"Seventeen," he mumbled.

  
  


"Wait until you're twenty-one. You'll enjoy it more, trust me." I patted him on the shoulder trying to lighten his mood a bit. I didn't want him thinking that I was a total buzz kill after he had invited me to game with them.

  
  


"You know my mom will tell yours if she catches you drinking," Sebastian added. At the mention of his mom finding out Sam paled and nodded.

  
  


"Yeah, you're right," he made a show of shuddering violently. "Don't want to go down that road. She's scary when she gets angry."

  
  


"Really, your mom seems sweet," I folded my arms across my chest, hiding my hands from the crisp air.

  
  


"Yeah, well...you're not her kid, so," Sam trailed off looking uncomfortable and I felt bad for bringing it up. I looked awkwardly over at Sebastian who just offered me a small smile.

  
  


"So...just waiting on Abigail, then?" I asked doing my best to change the subject.

  
  


"She's going to be a bit late," Sebastian's tone sounded somewhat relieved. "I guess that gives us time to get your character done, though. We kind of need Abby for the start of the session." Sebastian pushed himself off the wall and headed for the front door, opening it wide for Sam and I to walk in.

  
  


Sam headed inside like he owned the place heading straight for the stairway to the basement. I was only a few steps behind, but Sebastian took a light hold of my shoulder as I passed him, to stop me:

  
  


"Thanks for coming," his voice was soft and sincere. "I thought you were going to take the easy road and avoid me."

  
  


"No," my brow furrowed, "just been busy on the farm, is all. Your place is kind of out of the way, just haven't had the chance to make it back here."

  
  


Sebastian seemed to scour my expression and dissect my words for any sign of a lie. When he didn't find any, he nodded and removed his hand from my shoulder. "So what are you playing?"

  
  


"Well if it's allowed I wanted to do an arch type of the slayer class called the Velvet Blade," I responded quietly as we both stepped into the front room of the house. "Its all about using diplomacy to get you close to your target and then stabbing them in the back when the time comes. Sam told me you guys didn't have a diplomat, yet, so I thought it was a good fit."

  
  


Sebastian 'hmmm'd from behind me on the way down the stairs as he thought over my concept. His heavy foot fall following me stair for stair as we made our way into the icy cold of his basement room.

  
  


"Should be fine. Just find the stats and I'll get you a sheet," he headed over to his computer and set about printing me out a character sheet. Sam, was already at the book shelf grabbing the bestiaries and the main book, as well as a gaming screen and a couple of binders.

  
  


I walked to the corner where the unused chair was, and set about brushing the cobwebs off of it before walking it back over to the table. As soon as I sat, a pencil was rolled in my direction, and a character sheet was placed in front of me.

  
  


Sebastian then went into detail about how they created characters, and what level to make my character. Thankfully the house rules were easy to adjust to, and I wasn't dual classing so it was pretty easy to throw my character together on the fly.

  
  


The entire time I was working on my character, Sebastian was quietly stating monsters for us to fight, and Sam was spending experience while randomly asking me questions about previous campaigns I had played in.

  
  


Half an hour later, in the middle of one of my stories about a hilarious bad series of rolls I had, there was a familiar knock on the escape hatch to the basement. Sam jumped up quickly and ran over to open the door.

  
  


This time Abigail's entrance was considerably more poised. Two long slender jean-clad legs emerged from the opening followed by a milky white midriff that showed from beneath the deep blue vest she usually wore. "Sorry I'm late--had to wait for Mom to get to bed," she apologized.

  
  


"Its alright," Sam grinned, "gave Caitlyn enough time to make her character."

  
  


The pair of legs froze for a second, before the rest of her made its way from the emergency hatch. Perfect beach-waved purple hair made an appearance followed by a impeccably well made-up scowl came into view. I tried to placate her with a smile, hoping that a sign of good spirits would bring her back from the whatever negative emotion she was feeling, but she just rolled her eyes from me to Sebastian, who didn't seem bothered by the look on her face.

  
  


"I thought we agreed to vote on bringing in someone new," the annoyance in her tone was clear and unmasked.

  
  


"We need a fourth player," Sebastian said without looking up from his bestiary, "it's not much fun with two PC's and my NPC. Plus she's playing a diplomat, which we need."

  
  


"I could play a diplomat," she offered quickly.

  
  


"Then we'd be down a front line fighter," Sam closed the hatch behind her quickly and headed back to his seat next to me at the table.

  
  


"I promise I won't get in the way," I held up my character sheet to her in case she wanted to take a look. "I've played before, so no need to baby me, plus--I'm not front line, so your niche is safe."

  
  


Abigail looked at the sheet in my outstretched hand for a moment before slowly walking over, and taking it from me. I watched as she slowly flipped through the several pages comprising my character, eyes widening at some parts and I think I even saw a flicker of a smile once.

  
  


After a long couple of minutes she handed my character back to me. "Fine," she shrugged and sat between Sebastian and Sam.

  
  


"That's my girl," Sebastian reached over and ruffled her hair in a display of affection that made the younger girl blush and lower her head as she desperately tried to fix what he had messed up.

  
  


"Sweet," Sam sounded equally as pleased but he kept his hands to himself, only moving to push one of his own strands of bright blonde hair out of his face.

  
  


"Well, then," I shuffled through the papers in front of me and leaned back in my chair. "Shall we?"

  
  


"Sure," Sebastian's voice had an uncharacteristic tinge of excitement to it. Hastily he stood and headed for the door. "Let me go get our drinks and we'll get down to it. Sam, Abby, catch her up on the game so far."

  
  


"Aubron, may we speak?" Abigail addressed Sebastian's character in the most pitiful display of a British accent I had ever heard. It was painful to listen to at first--but the more and more I drank, and I was on my fifth, it just became funny.

  
  


"Sure, Zeflie," Sebastian feigned concern and nodded off to the corner of the room. Abigail stood, and headed over there, Sebastian following right after.

  
  


Sam and I looked at each other, and then over to the corner.

  
  


"I'm not sure she likes me much, Broman," I did my best to seem sad and looked down at my hands to punctuate the fake emotion. "I'm only trying to help you vanquish the evil wizard...but I think she sees me as a liability."

  
  


"Aye," Sam began his equally as horrendous pirate-esque accent. He slammed the rest of his coke, much in the fashion his Dwarf Rogue would slam a pint of ale and slammed it down on the table top when he was done. "She jus' hasn' seen what ya can do. Give 'er time."

  
  


"I feel things are coming to a head," I glanced up at him before looking back down to my hands. "We're a day's ride from Tornbury Hold, and I can't be fearing a knife in the back while I'm trying to get close enough to get a hit on Crodalf the Black."

  
  


Before Sam could respond the other two returned, Sebastian looking expectantly between the two of us, and Abigail scrawling something on a scratch sheet of paper.

  
  


"Down time," Sam said in his normal voice. Sebastian nodded and then looked at each of us in turn.

  
  


"Alright--you all are heading out for Tornbury Hold in the morning. You're at the tavern for the night, what are you doing in your last hours before nearly certain death," he smirked.

  
  


"I am getting in a good meal and then heading to my room. Gotta be on top of my game for the battle tomorrow," Abigail said proudly.

  
  


They had introduced me to how they do combat at the beginning of the session, and though just some easy stuff--skeletons and ghouls--I saw that Abigail, though this was her first campaign, had tooled her character incredibly well into being an incredible front line fighter.

  
  


"I am drinking into the early hours of the morning," Sam said as he cracked open another can of coke before taking a long pull as he eyed my half empty beer.

  
  


"Aubron is headed to his room to meditate and re-gain the spells he used earlier," Sebastian announced before looking to me with a small smile. "What about Lucia?"

  
  


"Lucia is going to finish her pint with Broman, and then head up to go see Aubron," I gave him an equally small smile back. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Abigail's hand stop in mid stroke.

  
  


"Okay, so she knocks at the door, and Aubron opens it after a moment. 'Oh, Lucia, come in.'," Sebastian leaned back in his chair and took a long pull from his beer.

  
  


"Sorry to intrude, Aubron, but I fear we may have an issue in the upcoming battle," I leaned over conspiratorially and mock whispered: "I fear Zeflie doesn't trust me...and if that is the case, then why should I think she will help me when the time comes?"

  
  


I heard Abigail scoff quietly, which earned her a raised finger from Sebastian to keep quiet. He took another drink, and then spoke: "don't worry about Zeflie. She will protect you, her heart is too big to allow her not to."

  
  


Abigail smiled at Sebastian's character's words.

  
  


It was my turn to scoff. "I don't need protection, Aubron. I need someone to back my plays. I can take care of myself," I folded my arms across my chest and looked down my nose at Sebastian.

  
  


"Are you sure about that?" Sebastian smirked.

  
  


"I am quite capable on my own, thank you," I responded.

  
  


"While you are speaking, Aubron grabs you by your upper arms, spins you and presses you against the closed door." Sebastian's smirk grew as he described his character's action.

  
  


"Can I roll to pull a knife on Aubron while he does this? Not trying to break the grapple, just to show him that I am just as fast?" Sebastian nodded and motioned for me to roll. I unfolded my arms, took a swig of my beer and rolled my D20. "Seventeen," I tilted my die to him to show my roll.

  
  


"You pull the knife," Sebastian took a drink and readjusted himself in his seat.

  
  


"The knife is at his kidney, and I say: 'You are not the first person to underestimate me, Aubron--and I know you will not be the last. I have protected myself for years, and just because you were kind enough to bring me along on your adventures, do not think I will hesitate to use this if necessary." I did my best to put a sneer in my voice as my monologue went on. From my right I could see Sam was greatly interested in the intense scene happening.

  
  


"I see your point," Sebastian made a point of swallowing loudly, rousing a chuckle from Sam. "Though I think you misunderstand me as well, Lucia."

  
  


"How so?" I tilted my head.

  
  


Sebastian took a momentous drink from his beer, finishing the last of it. His usually pale cheeks were pink from the alcohol, and as I studied his face waiting to see where his response was going, I could see his eyes glazed with alcohol. He leaned over, close enough that I could smell the beer on his breath:

  
  


"Aubron leans forward and whispers in Lucia's ear: 'maybe I just wanted to be close to you'."

  
  


My eyes widened a bit at the direction this scene was going. Sure I had played in games where characters had had relationships before, but that hadn't been for a while, and it hadn't been my character. There was also the fact that Sebastian didn't seem to be role playing anymore--either that or he was just really into the scene.

  
  


Still the timbre of his voice made my stomach drop, and somewhere in the back of my mind I fantasized that it actually was Sebastian speaking to me, and not character to character.

  
  


_Awww, hell, we'll see where this goes_.

  
  


"Lucia gives Aubron a coy smile and says: 'dearest Aubron, isn't it a bit predictable to throw one's self at a companion the night before a battle?'"

  
  


"Predictable for a reason, no one wants to die without knowing love," the corner of Sebastian's mouth turned upward like it had the in the stairwell the first night we met, and I felt the bats returning.

  
  


I was about to respond when the sound of a chair screeching back against the wood of the floor broke the spell on us. We both looked over to see Abigail, red in the face, and tears in her eyes, staring at us--no staring at me with disdain.

  
  


"Fuck you," she spat and ran for the hatch. Sebastian immediately stood, and turned.

  
  


"Abby," he called out, exasperated.

  
  


"Fuck you, too," she shot back, tearing open the door and climbing through hastily. I could hear the upset in her voice and it made my stomach sick to think I had caused it, but I knew it wasn't my place to try and comfort her--especially not now when it was so fresh. I settled for staring blankly at my beer.

  
  


"Abby," he tried again, heading over to the hatch door, but by the time he got there, I could hear the crunch of gravel above. He turned around, and headed briskly back to the cooler next to his seat by the table and grabbed another beer, twisting off the cap violently.

  
  


"Uhhhh, what just happened," Sam spoke slowly, looking between Sebastian and I for some sort of answer.

  
  


"Abby," Sebastian sneered, "can't handle role play, I guess."

  
  


"...Was it really role play, though, Sebastian," I said barely above a whisper. Sebastian's face immediately melted from annoyance to resignation, and he looked off towards his bookshelf.

  
  


"Well...I'm going to see if I can go calm her down," Sam stood his tone just as tense as the energy in the room. "It's late, though, so I probably won't be back tonight." The blonde haired boy headed over to the hatch.

  
  


"Thanks, Sam," Sebastian sighed and looked to the table and the barely used dice. "See you later."

  
  


"Thanks for the invite," I added. It had been fun up until the epic storm out--but I didn't feel it appropriate to voice that part of my feelings on the matter.

  
  


"No problem. Hopefully next week goes better," he smiled at me, a genuine charm-filled smile and disappeared out into the dark of the escape hatch, closing the door behind him once his body was through.

  
  


"The fuck am I doing," I muttered downing my beer as I eyed the closed hatch. How did I not see this coming, and why hadn't I stopped it? I should have known that the scene we just did would be upsetting for Abigail, and I just went ahead and did it anyway because of the bedroom eyes Sebastian was giving me.

  
  


_You weak, selfish sack of shit_ , I berated myself internally. If I had been drunk instead of just tipsy I might have started crying, but luckily I had a grip enough on reality to know that crying wouldn't help the matter any.

  
  


"What do you mean," Sebastian's curious voice floated to my ears. I his out of focus form sit back in his seat as I stared blankly past him.

  
  


"It's obvious she's in love with you, Sebastian. Hell I knew this the first time I met her, and I just went ahead with that scene regardless?" I felt my chin start to do the scrunchy thing it does when I am about to cry, so I bit my lip hoping the pain would override that feeling. "We really hurt her, Sebastian."

  
  


"She is _not_ in love with me," he sounded vaguely appalled by the idea. "She's seventeen--she only thinks she's in love with me."

  
  


"Isn't that enough? That doesn't change much for her, Sebastian. She saw a guy she loves--or thinks she loves, flirting with another woman." My hand began to shake due to my anger at myself. I balled it up into a fist and pressed my fist to the top of my leg to keep it from going awol and smashing up Sebastian's stuff.

  
  


"It was in character," Sebastian reached out a hand and covered my fist with it, squeezing gently trying to calm me down.

  
  


Sighing gently, I closed my eyes and muttered the two words that I was honestly scared to know the answer to: "was it?"

  
  


The squeezing on my hand stilled, and he went quiet. I could hear our breathing, and the sound of the wall clock ticking from the opposite side of the room, but other than that all else was quiet.

  
  


Finally after a few moments of silence he spoke:

  
  


"...No, it wasn't."

  
  


My heart skipped a beat while my stomach dropped. I was both excited that this beautiful, kind man was interested in me, and at the same time felt sick that a young girl had gotten her heart broken for me to find out.

  
  


As much as I wanted to be happy, I just couldn't manage it. Not with Abigail crying her eyes out somewhere under the night sky.

  
  


Slowly I removed my fist from under Sebastian's and ran my fingers through my hair, trying to figure out what was supposed to happen next. Do I tell him how I feel? Do I tell him about Alex and I? Or do I just get up and leave him alone and drunk in his room?

  
  


"Say something," he insisted, voice verging on breathlessness.

  
  


"Say what? I feel like shit, Sebastian. She's out there crying because of us--I don't really feel like making an emotional connection right now," I slid my gaze to his, his dark eyes burning as he watched me.

  
  


_If only you had given me that look a few days ago,_ I frowned.

  
  


"Look, Abby will get over it, or at the very least I can talk to her and make her understand," he shrugged. "She's too young for me, and I see her as more of a little sister anyway," he shook his head to the side to rid himself of the hair that was covering part of his face. "Are you really going to let a seventeen year old call the shots on what could be a good thing?"

  
  


He was covering it well, but when he said 'understand' and 'seventeen' I could hear his speech slur. This was not the time to have this conversation.

  
  


"Sebastian--you're drunk," I sighed heavily and stood. Sebastian stood quickly as soon as I rose, his chair tipping over in the process.

  
  


"Yeah, but...I just didn't know how to say it before without...you know, being a creep. 'Hey, Caitlyn, haven't seen you since the night I nearly saw your boobs--by the way, want to date?' Yeah...not the best way to ask a girl out." His eyes were locked on me trying to gauge a reaction.

  
  


Despite my feelings on the matter at hand, I couldn't help but laugh at his summation. "No, that probably wouldn't have worked...but it would have been better than openly flirting in front of another girl who likes you."

  
  


"I didn't know," he muttered.

  
  


"No one is that blind," I cried out, "you just didn't want it to be true." He looked somewhat ashamed, proving what I said was right.

  
  


I glanced at the clock. It was three a.m. and I had to be up in four hours to water my plants. I didn't want to stand here and have this round about conversation--I just wanted to crawl into bed and pretend this was just a crazy dream.

  
  


"Look, sleep it off, we'll talk later," my boots scraped against the hardwood flooring as I headed for the door to the staircase. I had made it only about three steps before there was a flurry of movement from my right to in front of me, and I walked straight into Sebastian's chest, causing him to wobble a bit on his unsteady feet. I managed to right myself, and then him by grabbing onto his shoulders.

  
  


I felt his hands, wide and smooth slowly encircle my waist before I had a chance to move. The way he touched me sent a shiver down my spine, that had to have been noticeable due to the small 'heh' of satisfaction that I heard from above me.

  
  


"Tell me, now that you don't feel something for me," he murmured. "Its in your eyes whenever you look at me, its in the way you move when you're around me. Careful not to get too close, but close enough to take everything in."

  
  


"Seb--"

  
  


"If I'm wrong, just tell me, and I'll never speak about this again. We'll be just friends, and that'll be fine. I promise."

  
  


_Oh fuck_. I did the best I could to keep my breathing slow and steady. He was giving me an in--and it would be so easy to just say 'yes' and fall into a relationship with someone with similar interests and tastes. That, however would be the only easy part about it.

  
  


I would have to make time I wasn't sure I would always have for him. That would mean possibly losing money, and possibly not turning a profit. What would be the point in a relationship if I would just have to leave at the end of the year?

  
  


Alex at this point just fit better. He came with no strings, no time requirements and he so far had been the easiest relationship I had started to date. I could keep PopPop's farm going and not have to worry that I was neglecting anyone.

  
  


Then there was Abigail. From what I had seen at the beginning of the game, Sam, Abby and Sebastian had a great friend-chemistry, and to be fair the only people I ever saw Abby with were Sebastian or Sam. I didn't want to ruin a friendship that had been going on for years--and I certainly didn't want to break a young girl's heart anymore so than I already had.

  
  


"I can't," I whispered.

  
  


"That doesn't answer my question."

  
  


Without warning I moved a hand from his shoulder to the back of his neck and pulled down. He gave easily to the small amount of force used, and pulled me closer by my waist. I lifted my head, hopped up on my tiptoes and pressed my full lips to his gently. I parted my lips slightly, and beckoned for his tongue to come meet my own to which he obliged nearly instantaneously.

  
  


I laced my fingers in the ends of his dark hair as our tongues danced together, perfectly moving around and with each other like we had been lovers for ages.

  
  


Then, I pulled away. No warning, no explanation. He looked at me curiously, his dark eyes shining in the artificial light of his room, a small smile playing on his moistened lips.

  
  


I slid my hands leisurely down his arms to his hands and removed them from my waist.

  
  


"I told you," I whispered, setting his hands back to his sides as I once more hoisted myself onto my tip toes to kiss him briefly on the cheek. "I can't."

  
  


Stepping around Sebastian, I made it to the door without any further interference from him. I opened the door slowly as to not wake anyone in his family whilst making my exit. 

  
  


"I'm sorry."

 

 


End file.
